Sugar Rush Circus
by Miss Wipplesnit
Summary: A circus is touring the sweet land of Sugar Rush! But who are these people? And can they be trusted? Complete! Thanks to everyone who submitted their OCs!
1. Prologue

Deep in the night there was a glitch,  
All throughout the land.  
And all of those who felt the switch,  
Knew trouble was at hand.

But in the morning,  
The birds still sung  
In the rosy awning  
The sun had hung;

So without a second thought,  
People carried on with their lives,  
Unaware of what was being brought  
Into this sugar-coated hive.

-

 **Hello all! This is my first try with borrowing OCs, so hopefully I'll get lots of submissions! Here is the form to fill out if you want to put your OC in:** ****

 **Name:** ****

 **Age (the racers are all canon age in this):** ****

 **Appearance:** ****

 **Personality:** ****

 **Likes:** ****

 **Dislikes:** ****

 **Good/Evil:** ****

 **Strengths and weaknesses:** ****

 **Circus act (necessary):** ****

 **Secret (if any):** ****

 **Friends, family, crush, enemies (if any):**

 **Please submit!**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing out for the night! Goodbye!**


	2. Chapter 1

**I am awfully sorry about the mess yesterday! I didn't have my laptop so I was uploading it through onedrive on a different computer – it must have messed something up.**

 **Thanks to anyone who submitted an OC - they don't appear in this chapter, but they do in the next!**

 **I'm afraid that I'll be on holiday for the next week or two, so I'll try to upload when I can, but it probably won't be very consistent. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

Sugar Rush Circus, Chapter 1

Vanellope awoke to the sound of shouts coming through her window. Rubbing her eyes, she dragged herself out of bed and stumbled over to her window.

"What the hell…" she said, completely awake with the shock of the scene in front of her.

Out of her east window, which usually overlooked the peaceful Sugar Rush Park, she saw a sight so unbelievable she thought she was still dreaming.

In the centre of the park, an enormous big top had been erected, towering as tall as the trees surrounding it and coloured so vividly it gave her a headache. In front of the entrance, there were several smaller stalls, all as bright as the top itself. North to the big top was an enormous ramp, a giant metal wheel, and a pool with a very high diving board. East, concealed by the trees, was a line of caravans. She could she people moving in and out of these; grabbing supplies, shouting orders to each other, eating hasty breakfasts…

Vanellope rubbed her eyes once more, filled with confusion. She ran to her north window, and saw all the other racers gathering outside, befuddled by the shouts and sudden noises. She frowned – she couldn't have all her subjects in confusion and panic. She grabbed her emergency megaphone.

"Racers of sugar rush, please meet your president at the finishing line ASAP. Citizens of sugar rush … just stay calm and carry on."

When Rancis arrived at the track, he was greeted by Taffyta and Candlehead. "Rancy!" said the lollipop girl, smiling at him and hugging him. What he didn't see, as he gave her a friendly squeeze, was the way she smirked at Vanellope, who had just pulled up. The president gave her a stony glare, which only caused her to hug Rancis tighter.

"Ahem," said Vanellope, clearing her throat loudly. "Oh, hey Vani!" greeted Taffyta warmly, as if she hadn't just been staring at her for the last two minutes. "Hello Taff." said Vanellope. They stood in an awkward silence until all the other racers finally arrived.

They stood in a half circle, awaiting news. It was obvious they'd rushed down – Torvald's hair was an absolute mess, Snowanna still had her pyjamas on, Jubileena couldn't stop yawning, and Swizzle was only half dressed. Vanellope laughed internally as she watched Sticky blush in embarrassment, trying to keep her eyes off the unicorn pop boy.

"Well everyone, I called you here, because-" the pint-sized president was interrupted as an enormous 'HEAVE-HO!' surged up from the direction of the park. "Well, because of that." she finished.

"D'ya know what it is?" asked Citrusella.

"No," admitted Vanellope "but I thought it would be best if we approached it together." All the racers nodded in agreement, and they ran to the garage, climbed in their karts, and drove to the park.

What they found was absolute pandemonium.

 **Well, what do you think? I'm quite happy with this chapter, though I do say so myself.**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing out for the night! Goodbye!**


	3. Chapter 2

Sugar rush circus

Chapter 2

 **Thanks for the positive reviews! And thank you to anyone who is still reading this even though I left it for so long! I'm afraid I was on holiday, camping, so I didn't have the chance to work on it as I had no internet. So, here's a nice long chapter to make up for that!**

 **Also, I am making a slight change to the ages of the racers - they will now be 13-14. Not that different.**

 **Anyway, here are the OCs I will be using, who we'll meet this chapter:**

 **Ginger Bread and Miito - owned by MowsTrap**

 **Jester Twistella - owned by TwizzleCreampuff**

 **Lucy and Kevin - owned by Agent BM**

 **Damon Dumstruck - owned by W. R. Winters**

 **Cynathia Ci Garette - owned by rose in the snow**

 **Crimson Crunch - owned by gameprincezz**

 **Ron Cinnadon - owned by Smokescreen2814**

 **Cherry Creme - owned by jubileena**

 **Jubilee Darkheart - owned by TCKing12**

 **Jake Dewey - owned by Countryboy93**

Vanellope led her crew of racers through this enormous hustle-bustle wide-eyed. "What is this…" She heard Nougetsia mumble. There were several people who Vanellope had never seen before – were they new NPCs? Or, background characters? Who were they?

Rancis was just as confused. He turned his head to talk to Minty – until he was knocked to the ground. "Oof!" He grunted on impact with the grass.

"Whoops! Sorry!" said the boy who knocked him down. Rancis felt a shiver run through his code. That voice sounded similar – far too similar.

Around him, he heard the other racers gasp. He pulled himself to his feet, coming face to face with … himself.

Well, granted, there were a few differences. This boy had slightly pinker cheeks, and slightly darker hair; but he had the same facial shape, piercing blue eyes, and reasonably faint British accent. "Oh …" said the other boy, looking puzzled.

Then Rancis fainted.

* * *

"Lucy! C'mere … quick. I, um, I found the racers."

When Rancis came to, he was sitting in a chair next to one of the caravans, the racers and this new boy gathered in a hasty circle around him.

Vanellope spun round and glared at the boy, hands on hips. "Found us? More like we found you, thank you very much. We do live here, after all? What are you anyway, a Rancis recolour? A copy? And who's … oh. Oh, mod."

Rancis weakly raised his head to find two Vanellopes staring at each other. They watched these two girls face each other for a few seconds, before the new one, who wore a suit very similar to Vanellope's original racing suit, turned to the other boy. "Kevin?" She asked, uncertainly.

"I'm as confused as you are Luce." Said Kevin, as he sat down next to Rancis. The boy had slightly messier, less smooth hair then Rancis, and was wearing a ringmaster's uniform – black trousers, a red tailcoat, black shoes and shirt, and a top hat resting next to his chair. The entire thing was made out of liquorice.

"Well … um, hello racers!" said the girl, trying for a cheerful start. "We've been wondering when you'd show up – after all, we've been setting up since seven! We are Cirque du Sucre, and we plan on performing our first shows here, before moving on to other islands, maybe even other games!" finished Lucy, with a confident smile.

"Don't you typically have to ask the ruler of a land before setting up an enormous circus tent?" asked Vanellope, arms crossed.

"Oh, snap. Knew we'd forgotten something…" said Kevin. "Miss President, could we set our circus tent up in your park?" He asked, without a hint of sarcasm. Vanellope rolled her eyes. "Well seeing asked so nicely…"

She then turned to the racers. "Guys, I think we might want to disband for a little while – just, have a look around or something."

The racers all nodded, and some went back to get changed, whilst some wondered off towards the big top.

"So, tell me – Kevin, is it?" Said Rancis, having recovered a little. "How did you get here?"

Kevin grinned. "I have absolutely no clue. We seemed to blink into existence, early in the morning. Everyone was looking at me for information, so I told them what I knew – that we are a travelling circus, consisting of NPCs, and we were putting on a show today. Don't ask me how I know-" he said, as Vanellope opened her mouth "I just did."

"So, how many of you are there?" Said Snowanna. "About fourteen of us I guess." Said Lucy, shrugging her shoulders. "We can introduce you guys if you want."

She stood up, followed by her brother, and they walked off, Vanellope, Rancis, Taffyta, Sticky and Snowanna on their heels.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other racers had been meeting these performers for themselves.

Citrusella, Jubileena and Gloyd were wondering in and out of the caravans, peering in the windows. They were all quaint, and had the same basic body shape, but it was clear how every inhabitant personalised their own caravan. One was done entirely in orange, another had piles of call of duty games, and a last one had jars of dum-dums everywhere. Gloyd grinned, and looked into another window, when he came face to face with one of his nightmares.

"Cybug!" He screamed to Jubi and Citri, pointing into the window. But barely before they had the chance to turn around, a girl came storming out of the door. "Who's making such a racket now?! I only just got to sleep, I've been up since six! If that's you Dewey- oh. You're new."

The three racers frowned at the girl's oddly masculine and growly voice, until she turned and they saw a small teddy bear perched atop her shoulder. "Hush Miito!" Chided the girl as she walked down the steps. "Hello … racers?" She tried, smiling at them.

She had tanned skin and freckles dancing across her nose, disappearing into her curly hair. She had a small gingerbread man clip on the side of her head, and a white dress with a gingerbread man on the front. Her brown jacket, adorned with white buttons, went to her elbows, and her similarly coloured tights had a small white gingerbread men pattern. She wore white boots. "My name is Ginger. Ginger Bread. And this is Miito," she said, indicating the bear on her shoulder. He was a deep raspberry colour, with peach polka dots, and oval-shaped blue eyes. "And the thing you saw through the window is just my pet, Karou. I also have a pet fox, called Freckles, but I don't know where he's gotten to now." She said with a smile, completely at ease as a small, baby Cybug flew out of the caravan and started buzzing around her head.

"But … but that's a Cybug..." Sai Jubi, slowly backing behind her sister.

"No, he's a … well, I call him a bright-eyes, because his eyes glow at night. But don't worry, he's perfectly harmless."

"A harmless Cybug?" Repeated Jubileena.

"With glow-in-the-dark eyes?" Said Citrusella.

"Well, if she's got a talking teddy and a runaway fox, I see no reason why she can't have a 'bright-eyes' as well." Said Gloyd with a smile. The others seemed sceptical, but Ginger beamed at Gloyd.

"Well, while you're here, we can show you around! C'mon Miito!" She said, as they turned around and walked off, together with the racers.

"But I'm tired..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Candlehead and Adorabeezle were having some encounters of their own.

"Wow! Look at this!" Said Adorabeezle, gawking up at the metal wheel. Up close, it was even more impressive.

It had been painted so it shone silver in the sunlight, and towered above them, only slightly shorter than the big top. The main frame was simply crossing bars of metal, rounded to form a sphere, but in between the gaps was strands of wire, crisscrossing enough so that anyone inside could walk without falling, but the public outside could still see. But the most interesting part was how the wire had been set up - each little square was made to look like a spider web, and inside each of those gaps was a spider web, and inside each of those gaps was another. It truly was an amazing feat of metalwork.

"How is it even made?" Asked Candlehead, peering at the tiny wires.

"Oh, it's easier than you would think." Came a voice from behind them. The girls turned, and hanging off a branch on one of the surrounding trees was a boy.

He looked exactly like Gloyd, but with a different colour scheme and clothes. He had the same hair, though it was stark white with blue tips, and was covered not by a pumpkin, but by a white army helmet with two crossed dum dums on the front. His skin was very pale and his cheeks had a blue blush - as did his nose. His eyes were a brilliant raspberry blue, and his outfit looks like it was from the military. He had a white racing jacket with two blue lightning designs on the side, and under his jacket a white shirt with a blue camouflage design. His trousers were white with blue stripes running down the side and he wore white combat boots. Covering his hands were white gloves, and he had a white stick in his mouth.

"Hi." He said, swinging upright then dropping off the branch. He walked over to them, then got a lighter out of his pocket and lit the end of the stick. "Are you … smoking?" Asked Adorabeezle, who was familiar with the term but had never seen it in action.

"Yes." Replied the boy, then took the stick out of his mouth. It was a blue lollipop. "Want a dum dum?" He said, slipping into a broad smile.

Adorabeezle blinked, momentarily stunned. Then, she started laughing. "Boy, you had me there. Yes please..." She said, and the boy handed one to her and Candlehead.

"Name's Damon Dumbstruck. You are?" He said. "My name's Adorabeezle, and this is- Candlehead! What on earth are you doing?" Candlehead was waving her dum dum around on top of her head like she was crazy - not the best first impression.

"I'm lighting my dum dum, duh! Want me to do yours as well?" She said, lowering her candle dangerously close to Adorabeezle's mouth. "Candlehead! Get away! They're not supposed to be lit!" She said, batting away her friend's hat.

"Sorry about that..." Adorabeezle said, after she'd got Candlehead's flame out of her face. "So … Damon, is it?" She said, blowing hair out of her face.

"Yeah. I'm a performer - I do a dance routine with my pets. We just finished setting up this wheel actually, me and - Cynth? Where are you?" He said, looking around.

A girl walked round the wheel. "I told you not to call me that! And what's the big idea, running off and leaving me to finish the right side on my own?"

She was quite tall, with rosy cheeks and long black hair. Her eyes were brown, with hypnotic orange spots in them, and she wore a black leather jacket and matching skirt, orange tights, white T-shirt, and black sneakers. There was a holster strapped to her orange belt, and inside it was a revolver. She caught the racers staring at it cautiously and laughed. "Oh, you don't have to worry about this. I've never used it in my life. Barely even know how it works. I'm Cynethia Ci Garette - not Cynth." She said, casting a dirty look at Damon, who shrugged. Candlehead and Adorabeezle introduced themselves, then Damon cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I should probably get back to setting up the wheel. Nice to meet you both - hope you come to the show later!" He said, and he and Cythethia ran back round the wheel. They could hear them arguing already.

* * *

Ginger was in tour guide mode, leading the two cherry girls and the pumpkin boy round the small tents , pointing out every feature. "...and this is the food area! All made of candy, of course, but you can get most circus food! Popcorn, candyfloss, et cetera..."

They were heading round towards the big top in a circling fashion, so they were near the back when they passed the see-through walls of the pool.

"Ok, we'll go to the big top next! Anyone want … uh, Jubileena?" said Ginger, as she realised the girl had stopped. Jubileena had her nose against the glass, her mouth hanging open. Facing her was another girl, on the back of a red fish, giggling.

"Jubi!" hissed Citrusella. "It's rude to…" She lost track of her train of thought when she realised the fish the girl was sitting wasn't a fish – it was a tail. The girl was a mermaid.

Bubbles of laughter rose from the mermaid's mouth as she swam upwards, and pulled herself over the edge of the pool. She was wearing a red dress that covered the upper part of her tail, and had red hair held back by a white headband. Her skin was fair, with freckles, and her eyes were a dark emerald green.

"Hello down there!" She said, as she pulled her tail out of the pool. The scales rippled, and slowly parted through the middle, whilst changing colour, until they were the same hue as her skin. The racers watched with amazement as the two tails shaped themselves into legs, and gawked as the fins became feet, the ends turning into toes. Then, she hopped down, grabbed a pair of black shoes, and put them on.

"Well, you all look like you've seen something crazy!" She said with an impish grin. "Well if that wasn't crazy I'm insane." managed Gloyd, provoking more giggles from the girl.

"I'm Cherry Creme." She said, shaking their hands in turn.

"Jubileena Bing-Bing."

"Citrusella Flugpucker."

"Gloyd Orangeboar."

* * *

"Wow."

Snowanna ran her hand along the sides of the stands inside the big top, captured by the paintings, which were all of circus stunts, painted brightly with a rainbow of colours. "Who made these?" She asked, turning to their guides.

"Don't actually know." Shrugged Lucy, "They just appeared with the top, like everything. Including us."

Suddenly, they heard a jingling noise, followed by a high clear voice.

"Yes, we are not of mother born,

from an unknown force, did we spawn."

A girl entered the little circle of racers, tossing a stick high into the air.

She had snow white skin, with an orange blush. Her slim eyes were orange, and gleamed with laughter, like she was holding back some hidden joke. A bright smile took up most of her face, her perfect white teeth shining with joy. She wore an all-in-one jester suit - a close-fitting one with three points on the hood, which flopped comically, and curly shoes (all attached); each curl and point with a bell on the end - which glimmered with all the colours of the rainbow. She seemed to radiate childlike happiness.

"Twistella! There you are." Kevin turned to the racers. "This is our jester, Twistella."

"Jester Twistella is my name,

and making you laugh is my aim!"

She said, throwing the stick up again and catching it. Her stick was a long, slim one - it was white with gold circles at each end, and had multicolour ribbons wound round it like a may pole.

"Heh, that's pretty good rhyming, for on the spot thinking." Said Sticky, smiling.

"Thank you - I love to rhyme,

but please don't ask me if I'm a mime!"

Said Twistella. Rancis frowned. "But... mimes don't rhyme..."

"Ah, but you see, my reasons are clear,

who makes a show the blind can't hear?"

She said, a wry smile on her face as she tossed her stick upwards once more.

"So racers, please, tell me more,

are you coming to see us perform?"

"Um … I guess so..." Said Vanellope, shrugging. "Well, we'll save you the best seats in the top, Miss President." said Lucy. "After all, you wouldn't want to miss my performance - I do acts with fire!" She said, adding emphasis on the word fire, whilst doing a dramatic gesture with her hands.

"Cool. Got a stage name?" Smirked Taffyta, whom Vanellope noticed was sticking really close to Rancis... Again...

"Hmm, no actually. How about … Lucy, the girl on fire!"

Twistella giggled, and then frowned comically.

"If you were to go up in flame,

your one-time act would have notorious fame!"

"Right, maybe not..." Said the 'girl on fire', tapping her chin. "What about... Lucy the extinguisher!"

"Were you to extinguish all the fires,

the act wouldn't be nearly as dire."

Said Twistella, with a shake of the head.

"Oh, I've got it! Lucy the inflammable!" She said, with a happy grin on her face. Twistella pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows.

"From what I can see, it is alright,

though the name sets standards at a great height."

"Well, that's fine with me. Because I'll meet any standards. You'll all see this afternoon." She said, with a wink at the racers. Vanellope smiled to herself. She liked this girl. She liked her bouncy, confident attitude, and her ability to not take offense at stuff. It was kind of like if you took Vanellope's attitude and mixed some of Rancis's personality in. Yeah, this would be what her and Rancis's kids would be like.

Then she shook her head. Where did that thought come from?

* * *

"So ... you're a mermaid." Said Citrusella, still mesmerized by Cherry's transformation.

"Only when I touch water. I used to think it made me a freak, but then I realise I could use it as a talent. So that's why we have the tank - for my act! I'm an acrobat, but I also do stunts in water. I guess you could call me and aquabat!" She said, going giggly once more. Gloyd kept noticing her giggle - it wasn't exactly human. It wasn't sore to the ear, but it had this strange sound to it, like it ranged over pitches beyond his ears. It was actually quite nice - and it showed she had a sense of humour. Gloyd liked a sense of humour.

"So are you a performer too Ginger?" Jubileena asked, turning to their guide. Ginger opened her mouth, but before she could talk a voice cut through them like a knife.

"Well, look who finally turned up. Our racers."

The girl climbed down from where she was sitting in the stands around the tank, and stalked over. She looked exactly like Jubileena - so similar it gave her shivers. There were differences though. This girl had darker skin, and her voice was deeper, with a mean, malicious air to it. Her hair was also slightly different - she had the same pigtails, but the right one was only a stub, like it had been cut off. She was wearing a black dress with a hood, which was ripped and burnt, and had black robotic looking gloves on. In her left hand she held a mask, red with yellow eyes, and in her right a clipboard.

"Visit from racers - late, but yes." She said, reading of her board with disdain in her voice. "my name is Jubilee Darkheart - and I, apparently, am the only one trying to get this show ready in time for this afternoon." She said, raising her eyebrows at Cherry and Ginger. The two girls looked at the floor, suddenly interested in their own feet.

"Well, now that you two are here and available, I'm sure you can go post these around town. If you can walk that far." She said, smirking at Cherry, who frowned and bit her lip.

"We'll do it..." Said the gingerbread girl, as she grabbed some posters from Jubilee's extended hand. The two girls cast apologetic looks at the racers, then wandered off.

"Well, racers, I'm sure you can find your way around. If you'll excuse me, I have things to do..." And with a final sneer Jubilee flounced off towards the tent.

"Something about that girl just makes me not like her." Said Gloyd, as she walked away. The cherry sisters nodded. "She's like Taffyta was when King Candy was ruler - a bully." Said Citrusella.

"And here I was thinking we didn't have to worry about those anymore..." Said Jubileena sadly.

"Oh, you don't. It's not your responsibility. We can handle her." Came a voice from behind them. The three of them turned, and met the eye of a boy sitting on a pile of tires next to the tank. He looked kind of like Rancis, but not in the same way that Jubilee looked like Jubileena. Here, it was as if the creators had used Rancis's basic facial features to make someone new - there, it was like Jubileena had had a dark makeover.

He had slightly shorter, darker hair then Rancis, and more tanned skin. He wore a two-tone green camouflage jacket over a tan t-shirt, olive green trousers and a dark brown cowboy hat with the mountain dew logo on it. His boots were light brown.

He hopped down from the tire, then tipped his hat to them. "Hello racers. My names Jake Dewey, and I'm trying to get rid of Jubilee. It's taking me a while."

"Well, could we help you? We're rather helpful people, and we we're forced to bully our president for fifteen years because of our memories being locked up - so we really don't like bullying." Said Gloyd, desperately trying to cram Vanellope's entire struggle into on small sentence.

"Well, the thing is with Jubilee - she's the boss's right hand woman. She's the one who actually gets the real work done around here; without her, Cirque du Sucre wouldn't function. At least, that's most people's opinion. Me, and a few others, think we would still get along without her, but the people making the decisions - and by that I mean Lucy and Kevin - don't. But of course, cause they're in charge she changes her personality around them. She bullies all the rest of us - even the sweet ones like Cherry and Twistella." He sighed. "Those two are like the little sisters of the entire circus. It makes most of us angry to see her tell them off, especially when they work really hard, but what can we do? If we told Kevin, he'd just think we were ganging up against Jubilee." He sighed again, then smiled ruefully. "But, for the most part, we're happy."

* * *

Candlehead and Adorabeezle wandered around inside the big top, oohing and aahing at everything inside. People had obviously been here recently - there were footprints on the floor, and a ribbon that must have fallen off something. Candlehead picked it up. "Hey, Dora, whadaya think?" She said, winding the ribbon wound her neck and pouting, strutting down the middle of the ring like it was a catwalk.

"Faaabulous dahling, you look absolutely faaabulous."

As the two girls were laughing, Candlehead spotted a glimpse of movement behind Adorabeezle, in the shadowy corner of the tent.

"Hi!" She shouted brightly.

The girl in the corner jumped, and quickly backed away from the crates she'd been opening. It was dark, but Candlehead could easily tell it was marked 'DO NOT OPEN'.

"Oh, um, hello..." said the girl, forcing up a smile whilst her eyes flitted this way and that. "Um, what are you doing here...?" she asked, finally looking at the two girls properly.

Adorabeezle cocked an eyebrow. "We're the racers. We were having a look around. I'm Adorabeezle and this is Candlehead. And you are?"

"I'm Crimson. Crimson Crunch." Said the girl, finally stepping out of the shade. She had long blonde hair, streaked with red, and a birthmark shaped like two diamonds under her left eye. She wore a red and white striped jacket, a dark red t-shirt, and a maroon skirt with rips around the hem. Her stockings were pink and she had red boots.

Candlehead frowned. "Why were you looking in the boxes that said do not open?" Adorabeezle sighed. There was no discreet with Candlehead...

"Um … well, you see, these boxes contain a secret part of my act, and so I, and the other circus people, am allowed to look in them. But if anyone else looked in, it would spoil the surprise!" She said weakly. Adorabeezle pursed her lips, not buying a word of it, but Candlehead seemed content with the response. "Ok then! We'll let you get on with your top secret performance. C'mon Dora."

Adorabeezle would have protested, but Candlehead is a lot stronger then she looked.

* * *

Meanwhile, our biggest group had spilt up. So only Snowanna and Sticky got a hint as to what was to come...

"Listen Cinnadon, I don't have time for this, ok? I am very busy-"

"Stop waving your bloody schedule in everyone's faces! You think you can fool me? I know you're up to something!"

Then a cold, harsh laugh rang out.

"Oh Ron … you're such a pathetic idiot. You don't realize, do you?"

On the other side of the trees, Sticky frowned at Snowanna. "Did you hear that?"

Snowanna nodded. "Sounds like someone's in trouble. Let's go check it out."

But when they arrived at the location of the argument, all they saw was a dejected looking boy sitting on some caravan steps.

"Um … hi … are you okay?" Said Sticky, crouching on the ground next to him.

The boy looked up in alarm. "Who me? Oh, I'm grand. Why?"

He had warm brown hair and eyes, and wore a light tan jacket over a white shirt with the words 'sweet spice' written on it. His trousers were dark brown jeans, and he had brown shoes and a cinnamon bun hat.

"Heh, your hat is a lot like Crumbelina's cookie hat." Said Snowanna with a smile.

"Crumble who?" Said the boy, confusion written on his face. "That's not important," Sticky added with haste, "we just came because we heard fighting..."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. That's just one of my everyday conversations with Darkheart... I'm Ron by the way. Ron Cinnadon."

"Sticky Wipplesnit," said Sticky as she shook his hand. "And this is Snowanna Rainbeau."

"Nice to meet you both."

"So … dark heart? You must really hate this person to call them that." Said Snowanna, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Oh, no, Darkheart is her surname. Jubilee Darkheart. She's a nasty piece of work."

* * *

The tired racers trouped back to Racer's street after that morning full of excitement. Many of them were hoping to fit a nap in, but alas, they'd have to wait. Because plastered all over town were posters that claimed: _Cirque Du Sucre - the finest circus in all of Sugar Rush - in town for one week and one week early! First show this very afternoon!_

"Well, looks like Ginger and Cherry did a good job." Commented Jubileena to Citrusella and Gloyd, who muttered agreement.

All the racers trouped back into their homes - most of which had been covered by posters - and settled down to a quick lunch before they left again for the show. Sticky's sisters met her at the door.

"How was it?" Asked Torvald.

"One thing's for sure," Said Sticky as she sat down on the sofa and pulled off her shoes.

"That circus is unlike any I've ever seen before."


	4. Chapter 3

Sugar Rush Circus Chapter 3

 **Thanks you for all the reviews! I really didn't expect to get such amazing feedback! Thank you all again for reading and reviewing!  
Hopefully this chapter will meet the standards of the last…**

 _ **And a response to Reader-anon's review:**_

 _ **TCKing12 contacted me through one of their other accounts to offer Jubilee, yes, but they said that they would rather I put that TCKing12 owns her. And as to why I didn't put Herschel Nougatson – he wasn't offered. I only put the OCs people offered in.**_

 **Btw, I am sorry about the delay between chapter 1 & 2, but my laptop was being repaired. And that is also why the first time I uploaded chapter 1 it didn't work.**

The racers freshened up then walked towards the circus in small groups of about two or three. On the way, the ones who had met the performers couldn't help to gush to the others about their new friends.

"And she's got a Cybug, but it's absolutely harmless, I think-"

"If he looks like he's smoking don't worry, he does that with his dum dums-"

"And he's being bullied by someone called Darkheart, poor thing-"

"She's your kind of person-"

"You'll like him, definitely-"

"She's sweet, you'll like her-"

"You'll be great friends-"

"You'll love them!" Whispered Snowanna to Crumbelina as they took their seats in the big top, armed with popcorn and candyfloss. "I'm sure I will." Said Crumbelina with an amuse chuckle. Her best friend had been brimming with new information she 'absolutely needed' to talk about, so much that she had come straight to Crumbelina's house instead of her own. She had barely stopped talking all the way to the circus, but Crumbs didn't mind. By the speed at which she was gushing, it was obvious that they were in for a good show.

Suddenly the lights went out. A hush spread over the audience. Then, a spotlight pierced through the darkness, illuminating a small figure.

Jester Twistella raised her little head, her eyes starry. For a spilt second, the entire world seemed to stop and stare at this beautiful, tiny girl, dwarfed completely by the audience, but captivating the attention of every eye.

Then, she broke into a grin, and started to speak, in her lilting, singsong voice.

"If you were to see the mystical,

With your own two eyes,

Would you become cynical?

Or open your minds, like I?

Your answer will soon be put to the test,

Through the course of our show.

So, will you accept what is for the best?

Or will you leave us with a no?"

Then, as suddenly as she had appeared, she disappeared, with a high, impish laugh.

Suddenly, all the lights came on, and the candy citizens squinted into the harsh brightness as their eyes adjusted.

Kevin walked out into the ring, in his full ringmaster's outfit – top hat sitting on well-groomed hair, perfectly polished buttons and boots, his cheeks flushed with excitement. He bowed twice, to either side of the audience, then spoke, his voice magnified by some unseen microphone.

"Greetings citizens of Sugar Rush! I hope you're all ready for show, because we have some brilliant acts on today!" This was met by another round of applause. "Well, who am I to refuse an audience their performance? Let the show begin! Introducing, the dance of Damon Dumbstruck!"

After another brief round of applause, Kevin exited the ring. The lights went down, and when they came back up Damon was standing on stage, two fennec foxes next to him. His outfit had changed – he no longer wore his jacket, and he had a pair of sunglasses on.

Everything was frozen for a few seconds – the audience wondering what he would do, they themselves standing in the centre of the ring, unmoving.

Then the music started, and they swung themselves into a dance.

But it was unlike any dance they'd ever seen before.

It was a techno-breakdance style, and he moved with such ease you'd think he was a liquid. The foxes danced too, moving with him in perfectly synced harmony. It was so fascinating, it felt as if you literally had to tear your eyes at to stop looking. Barely a single person in the audience blinked. When it ended, there was thunderous applause. It was like some kind of spell.

Damon bowed, smiling modestly, then left, petting his foxes. Kevin walked back into the ring.

"Wasn't that great folks?" Pause for applause. "Now, crane your necks skywards for our next act!"

The entire audience looked up, and gasped at the dizzying heights of the ropes that crossed the ceiling, parallel to each other.

On the platforms at the ends of the ropes stood Ginger, Miito positioned on her shoulder. They each held something behind their backs, but it was indistinguishable from so high up. Suddenly, music started flowing through the concealed speakers near the top of the top, and Ginger stepped out onto the wire.

She wore a very different outfit – instead of her usually gingerbread dress, she had a mix between a shirt and a dress that reach her thighs, white gingerbread men standing out from the brown background, a white formal jacket, and a white tie.

She took a deep breath, then ran out onto the wire. There was a collective gasp at the speed at which she was going, and for a horrifying moment it looked like she would fall. But she stopped in the middle and flipped the things in her hands outwards so it looked like she was holding a fan, or some cards. Then, Miito hopped down off her shoulder, twisting like a gymnast in mid-air and landing on the wire like a pro – which he probably was.

Then, they both started to sing, their voices booming out of the speakers.

"I'm walking the line between good and bad; looking back at things I use to have; if the scales tip, I'll fall; but I'm not afraid, no not at all…"

As they sang, they started walking along the wire confidently. As they danced nimbly across the wires, Ginger threw the things in her hands up into the air, faster than the eye could see, then caught them and started juggling.

Miito, still singing confidently, in his deep, growly voice, bent at the knees, and tensed his legs. He pushed off, and flew into the air, spinning and flipping, landing on the other wire by the tip of his toes. Then, without a second between, he swung forwards, grabbing the wire as he fell, and spun round it, propelling himself back to the other one. He landed a few feet from Ginger, making the wire shake crazily. But she didn't even flinch, keeping her balance and still singing on steadily.

"The weak fall off, the strong go on; and now I'm soaring away, away, away…"

And as the climax of the song occurred, Ginger threw the things she was juggling into the air above the second wire, and jumped, soaring through the air, never pausing for a moment in the song. Miito, singing out powerfully, jumped just after her, grabbing her feet.

She grabbed the wire, and flipped herself up in less than a second. Miito let go of her feet when they were above her head, and went flying upwards, grabbing the things Ginger had thrown. Then, he did a graceful turn and landed on her shoulder, arms outstretched. They bowed twice as the song came to a close, then dropped to the floor… or not.

Because whilst everyone's attention was being directed skywards, the rest of the team had rolled on an enormous gingerbread man, about three metres high. Ginger landed on his shoulder, then the gingerbread man bowed, Ginger curtsying on his shoulder, Miito waving his arms into the air on hers – or throwing something.

The two performers smiled as the little gingerbread men they were juggling flew into the crowd. Then, with a final bow, the rounds of applause escorted them and their gingerbread man out of the ring.

Kevin strolled back into the ring, a proud smile on his face. Everything's gone smoothly till now.

"Well, what did you think?" Pause for applause. "We sure do have some talented people in Cirque du Sucre!" Even out proud statement with a joke, don't want to sound big-headed… "Of course, that doesn't include me!" Pause for polite laughter. Bit weak. Best continue with the acts… "Now, without further ado, I present you Jester Twistella!"

He backed into the darkness, as Twistella came forth. She was dragging a black carpet bag behind her, waving ecstatically to the crowd as if she knew everyone personally. Behind her walked some of the managing staff holding a small platform, about a foot high, two feet in diameter. They set it down on the ground then walked off, business-like and professionally, without a second glance to the audience. _We've seen it all before,_ they seemed to say; _Just another day in the like of the circus._

But Twistella was looking around like it was the first time she'd ever performed, even though she was on the stage ten minutes prior.

"Greetings to all who paid at the entrance,

and thank you for funding my small performance!"

There were titters from the audience, but she pressed on after just a second, not demanding laughter, or rushing through.

"And now, for the sake of the company,

I will perform Beethoven's symphony!"

She grinned as she turned to her bag, and opened it. Then, she pushed her hand in … then her forearm … then her entire arm, up to her elbow. The bag looked way too small for her to fit her arm in – but then she withdrew it, and stuck her whole head in! When at last she emerged, she turned to the audience with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry folks, but it would seem,

my trumpet is nowhere to be seen!" She said, then she continued:

"So instead of a toot,

I will play a flute!"

She then reached in her bag once more, and pulled out the top of a flute. But it was like magicians' handkerchiefs – she kept on pulling it out, an impossibly long flute, far too big to ever fit in the carpet bag, which fell to the floor in comically loops as Twistella dropped it. She looked at it, scratched her head, and then turned to the audience with an incredulous look. She seemed so surprised and confused, it made everyone laugh.

She then picked up the head of the flute, and tried to pull at it to separate it from the rest. But the flute suddenly reared back like it was a living creature, the surprise making Twistella fall backwards off the platform. It then started to move from side to side like a snake, and suddenly darted out at her. She jumped five feet up and then started running round the ring, howling every time the flute 'bit' her. The scene was so comical, and so well performed, that the audience completely lost it.

The act continued for a few minutes, with Twistella managing to subdue the flute, with horns that sounded like frogs, invisible wires, faulty microphones and much more. Finally, she played a short bit of symphony five, and left to much applause.

Kevin came back in, and smiled at the audience. "She's hilarious, isn't she?" Applause and laughter. Good. "And now, for our next act – this one is not for the faint of heart. Presenting, Ron Cinnadon and Crimson Crunch!"

More applause. Ron walked out into the ring. Snowanna elbowed Crumbelina, "he was the one I was telling you about! The one with the hat!"

When Ron reached the middle, he reached for the scabbard at his waist, and pulled out a sword. Then, he addressed the audience. "Just so no one's worried – we're not actually going to kill each other."

There were confused murmurs from the audience, till someone else dropped into the middle of the ring – she'd been hiding on the tight rope platforms. "How could she manage that jump?" Whispered Nougetsia to her sister, who shrugged.

She landed kneeling, then raised herself, head bowed, facing Ron's back.

Crimson looked up, and then, not a millisecond later, Ron spun around, his sword flying through the air at her neck – the metallic sound ringing through the air as she got her own sword out and stopped him, faster than the eye could see.

Then, they started fighting, their blades slicing, stabbing, crossing, and the expressions on their faces were so deadly serious that you'd think they were really in a duel to the death.

After a few exciting minutes, the swords just blurs in their hands, Ron got the point of his blade in the chink were her blade connected to her hilt, and twisted. The sword was wrenched out of her grip, and thrown to the other side of the ring. Ron then moved the point of the blade to her neck, and she froze.

Then, she smiled. "Fine Ron. We'll do yours first." She then turned to the audience. "You see folks, when we plan our acts, we can never decide whose should go first. So, we decided to introduce it with a sword fight, and whoever wins gets to go first!"

Ron grinned. "Now, could we have a volunteer from the audience?"

Several hands raised, and Ron looked until something caught his eye – the rainbow afro of that girl, the one with the nice Sticky girl earlier.

"You there! With the rainbow hair – Snowanna, right?"

Snowanna nodded excitedly, and pushed past everyone beside her to get to the steps, and run down to the ring. Ron turned to the audience. "Snowanna Rainbeau, everyone!"

As the audience clapped politely, and Ron briefed Snowanna on what to do, Crimson directed the managing staff as to where to put the wheel they were carrying in, and the targets.

When everything was prepared, Ron turned to the audience again, and said "Presenting our first act – the wheel of death!" He gestured towards the big wheel, and the audience gazed at it.

It was about two metres tall, with little wooden stubs around the edges like a ship's wheel. It was painted red and white, and had leather straps positioned in several places around the wheel.

"Snowanna has been very brave, and decided to go for the most dangerous role – being strapped onto the wheel!" Said Crimson, and a cheer came up from the audience.

Crimson got a stool and attached Snowanna to the straps, making sure they were nice and secure. Then, she stepped back, putting the stool next to the wheel, and said "Hope you don't get sea sic Snowanna!"

"Wait, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!"

Said Snowanna, as Crimson pulled down hard on one of the stubs and sent Snowanna spinning. Meanwhile, Ron ad gotten out several short knives. A deadly hush spread over the audience as he lifted the first one.

His gaze was steady, and his arm never wavered. Crimson kept spinning the wheel. Crumbelina had gone white.

The blade flew through the air, and a thud was heard as it hit the board. The audience cheered, and he threw another, then another, and not a cry was heard from Snowanna. Eventually, when he ran out of knives, Crimson stopped the wheel, and Snowanna was revealed – not a scratch on her, but six blades embedded in the board next to her. The one above her head had just skimmed the top on her afro by a millimetre.

There was thunderous applause, and Snowanna took a few dizzy bows and was walked back to her seat. Then, everyone's attention was drawn to the targets.

"And now, for Crimson's act – the blindfolded throw!"

Was it just Snowanna, or did she sense a note of jealousy in Ron's voice?

But the act was starting, so she focused on the performers, and soon forgot her doubts.

Crimson carefully put an elasticated blindfold round her head, then let herself be led by Ron to a small marker in line with the targets, about fifteen feet back. He turned her towards it them put a knife in her hand. Once he had stepped back, the only sound to be heard was Crimson's steady breathing as she took aim, and threw.

The blade sliced through the air, and landed with a thump in the middle of the target. "Bullseye!" Shouted Ron, then led her over to the next marker, which was around five feet further back. This time, Crimson did not deliberate. As soon as the knife was in her hand, she hurled it at the target, and it embedded itself in the board.

Another roar went up from the crowd, and she was taken to the next marker, this time a whole thirty feet away. There was no way she could do it from that distanc- THUMP. Before anyone in the audience had even finished their thought, the knife slammed into the bullseye.

The crowd went crazy with applause. Crimson took of her blindfold and bowed modestly, then she and Ron bowed together. Then, the managing staff took off all the targets and the wheel, and Kevin came on.

"Leaves you with chills down your spine, doesn't it? Well, I'm afraid it's that time your all dreading-" he sighed dramatically "the break. But make sure your back here in fifteen minutes!"

The audience slowly filed out, to go and stock up on more circus food.

* * *

"Well? Toldja they were good, didn't I?" Said Snowanna, elbowing Crumbelina playfully. "They're great!" grinned the other girl, unaware that their conversation was being watched.

"Why, thank you very much!" Said Ron Cinnadon, dropping out of his position in the candy cane tree to stand next to them. "I just came to congratulate Snowanna; you did really well. Not many people can do that without it getting a little messier in the ring."

Snowanna laughed, but quickly noticed how quiet Crumbs was being. "Oh, right – Ron, this is my best friend, Crumbs." She said, gesturing to the girl beside her. Ron finally directed his attention on her, and blushed. "Um … hi Crumbs." He said, holding out his hand.

"It's Crumbelina, actually." She said bashfully, shaking his hand. He opened his mouth, but someone shouted "Cinnadon! Get your butt back in here!"

"Oops… better go. Nice to meet you, Crumbelina." He said, dashing off towards the top.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Snowanna started giggling. "Oh, this is too good! You like him! I can tell!"

Crumbelina shoved her. "I do not!"

"Oh yes you do! I can tell! And he definitely likes you too. Soon you'll be Mrs. Crumbelina Cinnadon. Crumb and Ron, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-"

Crumbelina sighed exasperatedly, and dragged her hands over face, but inside, she was smiling.

Snow wasn't giggling as much once Crumbs elbowed her in the stomach.

* * *

"Welcome back everyone!" Said Kevin as the audience filed back into their seats. He was in a brilliant mood now – not a single hitch in the show so far, and they only had four more acts to get through!

"Without further ado, may I present to you Jake Dewey!" He said, then ran off. As soon as he was backstage, he grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Alright. It's go time." He whispered to the managing staff as the light went off. He then turned to Jake, who was giving his kart a last minute polish.

"Bit late for that, isn't it Jake?" He said with a low chuckle.

"Well, you know me Kevin. Got to make sure I make a good first impression, and what better way than through my kart?" Said the boy in question with a smile.

"True, true. She is a beauty." The ringmaster admired. Kevin had always wanted a kart too, but he wasn't programmed with one, so he had to do without.

Jake's kart was great, too. It was a mountain dew can fashioned to look like an open top pick-up truck, with plastic mountain dew bottle tops for wheels.

"Yep, the Dew Buggy's great. Let's just cross our fingers and hope nothing goes wrong." Said Jake. "Well, looks like they've finished setting up. I best go. Wish me luck!"

But before Kevin could say anything, the boy had zoomed out into the ring.

The lights came back on in the ring, which seemed to have widened in the time they'd been off. But that wasn't the most exciting part – the enormous ramps in the middle were, with a giant hoop in between them.

But the candy citizens' attention was soon directed elsewhere; to the boy in the kart circling round the ramps. He did a few loops before he finally pulled to a stop in front of the first ramp. His agility and careful control of his kart definitely appealed to the audience, who had their own share of good racers.

Suddenly, he started reversing so he was facing the ramp. Then, he shot forwards, at a speed that had never been seen before on a kart. He rolled up the ramp and flew into the air, at a 45 degree angle. H soared easily through the hoop and landed on the other ramp, a smile on his face as he turned to avoid crashing into the stands. He felt that rush of acceleration once more, the high that came with speed, and applause as the crowd cheered loudly.

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, and then pressed the button on the remote in the seat next to him. The ramps began moving upwards, so that they were at even more of a vertical angle! The audience oohed and aahed, then waited expectantly for Jake to go flying up these.

And fly he did, as he soared through the air and over the hoop, landing past the tip of the other ramp and halfway down it. The audience went mad with applause, but Jake had one last trick up his sleeve. He pressed another button, and suddenly, the enormous hoop raised to the height of the ramps and burst into flames.

Jake breathed once more, his knuckles white on the wheels. Then, he floored the accelerator and went so fast he left a smoking trail behind him.

Time seemed to slow down as he left the ramp and went through the wheel. He could feel the blistering heat on his face, wavering his concentration, and he could pick out every scared face in the audience. The three who he'd met yesterday – they were there, and they looked terrified, even Gloyd. This just renewed Jake's desire to get through successfully. And he did: missing the fire by a hair's breadth, he landed with a thump on the other ramps, shaking the audience of their stupor.

The crowd went crazy, and as Jake drove a few more loops, he couldn't help to feel extremely proud of himself. He left with the praise still ringing in his ears.

"Good job man!" Said Kevin as he got out of his kart. Then, the ringmaster jogged back into the ring.

"Well, hope mine goes as well as yours." Said a voice beside him. He turned to see Cherry, who had changed her normal outfit for a red tankini. Jake smiled at her. "I'm sure it will." He said, ruffling her hair. Normally he was shy around girls, but he couldn't help but be fond of Cherry. She was like the little sister he never had – she reminded him of another girl he used to know, but he couldn't remember who.

Cherry ducked to the side, laughing. Kevin's voice rang out from the ring: "And now, our special aquatics acrobat - or, as she likes to call herself, aquabat!"

"Guess that's my cue." Said Cherry, smiling. She ran out into the ring, wiping her palms before raising them in the air and bowing.

The ring had once again proved it could work miracles. The floor had opened up, revealing the hidden pool underneath, and the managing staff had dragged in the ladder and the diving board.

Cherry grinned. Despite the fact she should be nervous of messing up, she was happy - it was a beautiful day, the audience seemed friendly, and she was getting to swim. Then again, she was usually happy.

She tackled the ladder, and climbed to the top in five seconds flat, not even winded. "Prepare yourselves everyone; I'm not your usual aquabat."

Then, she sprinted to the end of the diving board and jumped off, feet together, arms outstretched.

She fell straight, then curled into a ball and did three flips before plunging into the water. There was applause, but she knew that wasn't the main centrepiece.

Cherry released a sigh of relief as she felt her legs fuse together into the more natural feeling tail. Oh, how she wished she could be a mermaid all the time! But the show wasn't over, and she still had to perform.

She rose her tail out of the water, so she was upside down. Even under water, she could hear the gasps of surprise from the audience, and she couldn't blame them. Her tail was twice as long as her torso, ruby red, and beautiful - even if she did say so herself.

She spun around, sending droplets of water over the audience, then did a few lengths, showing off her new speed. Then, she soared out of the water, surrounded by a halo of water, and performed a carefully executed spin.

She did several flips and twists, until the audience was completely oohed out. Then, as her final trick, she swam to the bottom of the pool, then jumped out further than she'd ever gone before, the power of her tail driving her as high as the diving board. On the way up, her tail slowly fused back into legs, and she landed firmly on the edge of the board.

The audience clapped crazily, and Cherry bowed energetically twice. Then, she bounded down the ladder and backstage.

Cherry came back to rounds of congratulations from the rest of the circus, and Kevin straightened his top hat. Only two more acts to go. He waited for the pool to close up, then strolled into the ring.

"Well, I bet you that this is the only circus with its very own mermaid!" he said, feeling a sudden wash of pride. "Now, we're closing the final stretch of the show, so put your hands together for Cynethia Ci Garette!"

He took a deep breath as he went back inside, crossing his fingers. Only two more, he told himself. Only two more.

The lights went off, and when they came back o again there was the gigantic metal ball in the middle of the room, catching the light and making it shine. Inside the ball was a tall figure standing next to an orange motorcycle. Cynethia inhaled deeply and addressed the audience.

"Welcome all, to my penultimate act! I, Cynethia Ci Garette, am going to attempt to ride my motorcycle all the way round this sphere. Who here thinks I can do it?"

Every hand in the audience raised. "Wow, lots of support…" Said Cynethia under her breath. She supposed, though, with all the amazing things they'd seen today they'd have no reason to doubt her.

She climbed on her bike and strapped on her helmet. She started it up, making the engine roar to add suspense. Then, she accelerated.

She zoomed up the side of the cage easily, but Cynethia new thee trick was at the top. You had to go faster up there, even though it was lot scarier. But it was no biggie – she'd done it before, more times than she could care to count. She easily increase her speed, and glided down the other side of the wheel.

The audience, however, were thrilled. They'd never seen a manoeuvre like this before; they broke out into applause, and Cynethia smiled.

"Wanna see it again?" She shouted. The audience's wild cheers were the response.

She did the top again, then, feeling the rush of praise and speed, decided to do a few more turns around the middle, horizontal to the floor. By the time she had finished, the spectators were hoarse from cheering and Cynethia herself was exhausted. With a tired bowed, she watched the lights go off and then waited or the managing staff to come and let her out.

She wheeled her motorcycle backstage to be met with a seemingly very calm Lucy sitting at the opening – but Cynethia knew Lucy better than that.

"Hey. You'll be fine." Said Cynethia, clapping her hand on the girl's shoulder. Lucy looked up. "Thanks Cynth. You were great by the way." Cynethia frowned jokingly. "I told you not to call me that!"

"-my very own sister as our final act: Lucy the Inflammable!"

Lucy jogged on to the stage in her full circus gear – which consisted of a jumpsuit with teal and gold stripes running down the sides. "Hello everyone! I trust you're all warmed up? No? Well then, I can fix that!" She said, with a devilish smirk on her face as she rubbed her hands together, cupped them, and then blew through them. The audience screamed with delighted terror as a wave of fire washed over their heads.

"Well, that was better, but not very consistent. I know just the thing…" Said the performer, rubbing her hands together then placing them on the sides of the stands.

Suddenly, flames spread up the sides of the seating in controlled, narrow channels; head whipped to watch the fire dance past them, eyes widened at the bright heat. Then, the audience erupted into applause.

Meanwhile, Lucy had made her way just next to backstage, and grabbed the torches from the extended hand of one of the managing staff. She walked back to the centre of the ring, and put them all on the floor.

"Now, for my favourite part – I hope you all like it too!" She said, strolling over to the stands. Then, to the stunned spectators' surprise, she stuck her hands in the fire and withdrew a ball of it, holding it up to the sky like an offering.

Then, holding her flaming beach ball in one hand, she picked up a torch and dipped it into the fireball, which seemed to shrink a little. She began juggling this one, and once it was high enough she grabbed another one, light it up and then started juggling with that one too. Eventually, she couldn't get the time to light anymore with her hand, so she kicked one into the air with her foot, set it ablaze, then began juggling that one in her hand too! Her coordination was amazing – soon, she had all ten torches flying through the air, casting terrifying shadows on the walls, producing a fascinating spectacle for the candy citizens watching. Lucy's expression was grim, concentrating; it was the only time the entire show that she'd stopped smiling. Suddenly, she threw them all into the air at once, faster than the eye could see, grabbed a pail of water next to her and extinguished them all in mid-air.

The crowd went crazy. They started to think they couldn't see anything more startling or more amazing that day, but how they were wrong!

Lucy bowed not once, not twice, but five times to the audience, then left the ring, high-fiving Kevin on the way out. He walked to the centre and bellowed "Weren't they all amazing?!"

The crowd cheered its approval, then Kevin spoke again. "We thank you all for taking the time to come visit our show; and, in the words of jester Twistella – I hope we have opened up your eyes, or at least given you something worth £8.25!"

A final cheer from the audience, and the show was over. The candy citizens exited, then headed for the town to get back to their regular jobs, but the racers made their way into the ring, led by their very own president Vanellope, who knocked on the doors leading backstage.

Lucy pulled them open a crack. "No, we don't do encores. Have a nice day!" She said, but then chuckled and shouted behind her "OI! The racers are at the door! They want – well, what do you want?" She asked questioningly.

"We just wanted to congratulate you guys in person." Said Vanellope.

"Thanks! Hey everyone! Praise! Come and get some!" Shouted Lucy, a smile on her face.

The performers filed out of the door and into the ring, and in no time they were all inter mingling with each other.

"You did really well Jake! I thought you would fall!" Said Jubi, Gloyd nodding next to her. "Uh, thanks Jubileena…" Said the boy in question, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, Gloyd, I wanted to introduce you to someone…" He said, then turned to the gaggle behind him. "Hey Damon! Get over here!"

Damon strode over, but his smile faltered when he looked at Gloyd. The two boys stared at each other for a second, then Gloyd exclaimed: "Whoa! You'd make the best stunt double ever! I mean, dye your hair, get some contacts, borrow some of my clothes and we could convince everyone I've got a terrible cold, but then I turn up looking right as rain! This is brilliant! Hey Jubi," he said, turning to the cherry themed girl and smashing the bewildered Damon's face against his. "Aren't we just so similar? He even has my good looks! We're just sooo cute, ain't we?" He said in a falsetto voice.

Jubileena blushed, nodded a bit, and then blushed even more. Thankfully, Gloyd was painfully unobservant. He turned and kept babbling on to poor confused Damon about pranking possibilities.

Suddenly, Jubi felt an arm snake round her shoulders. "You know, that Gloyd friend of yours is kinda cute. He claimed territory, if you get my drift?" Whispered Cherry.

Jubileena looked over at this boy who she'd had a crush on for so long, even though he only ever saw him as a friend and never seemed to show any special interest in her, standing next to his 'twin', a boy she'd only just met.

"Nah." She said, with a smile. "He's free."

Meanwhile Snowanna had been doing everything she could to get Ron and Crumbelina to talk to each other. Finally, she grabbed Crumbs by the arm, waited for Rancis to finish congratulating Cinnadon, then moved in.

"Ron! I know I already said this, but you did great! And thanks for choosing me as your volunteer! Now, I'm just going to go talk to … uh, Lucy, but Crumbs wanted to chat to you. Bye!" Said the rainbow girl as she practically ran away, leaving he two alone.

"Um … what did you need me for, Crumbelina?" Said Ron, a faint hint of a blush creeping towards his cheeks. "

"Oh, I'm afraid that was just Snowanna making things up – she does that whenever she's playing matchmaker- I mean, just, like, all the time, and, oh Mod, did I just say that?" said the embarrassed racer, clapping her hand to her mouth.

"Well, that's what I heard!" Said Ron with a smirk, his shyness gone. It was far easier to talk to someone once they'd made a mistake in you company. Then as he tried to form his next sentence, it all came back. "So … um … would you … I mean, if you're free … um, tomorrow … I've never really seen Sugar Rush … you could, uh, show me around? If you're not busy, you're probably busy, I shouldn't have bothered you, I won't impose-" Crumbelina cut him off. "No, I'm free, and, that sounds … nice." She said, smiling at him.

"Moving a bit quickly there, eh lovebirds?" Said Swizzle, leaning on the stands next to them.

"Shut up Swizz! Why do you even care?" Shouted Crumbelina. Swizzle raised his hands in defence. "Fine, fine, I'll go." The unicorn pop boy turned around but crashed into someone else, sending them both to the floor. "Whoops, sorry, Miss…?" he said, climbing to his feet, and offering his hand to the girl before him. "Cynethia." She said, smiling at him. "Cynethia Ci Garette."

"What a lovely name." Said Swizzle charmingly. He had a tendency to try and woo every girl he encountered, which led to a disaster when Sugar Rush first got plugged in… but that was a story for another time. "Can I call you Cyndy?" He said with a smirk.

Cynethia blushed. It was the first time anyone had tried to call her something other than Cynth, and she appreciated it greatly.

"Sure."

Swizzle smiled at her, and opened his mouth, but he was suddenly interrupted by Candlehead's voice.

"So, were the targets those things in the 'do not touch' boxes last night?" She asked Crimson in a very non discreet voice. The rest of the circus turned to stare pointedly at the knife girl, who blushed and muttered something indistinguishable.

"Well racers, I think we should end this visit now, but I'm sure we'll be able to see you all again before the next show, and thank you for your support! Crimson: we need to talk. Now." Said Kevin, then he walked backstage with Crimson following him sheepishly. The rest of the performers made their excuses and then filed away.

Adorabeezle turned to Candlehead. "Candles!"

Candlehead looked at her, confused. "What did I do?"

 **Whew! That was a looong one! Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Also, if you want to see more of any character with any other character, just review of PM me and I'll arrange it, because next chapter would be the best time.**

 **Thank you all for your continued support, and hope this made up for the delay!**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing out for the night! Goodnight!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Sugar rush circus Chapter 4**

 **Hi everyone! Sorry for the slow updates, I hope people are still reading this story! And if you are, carry on!**

 **And thank you to jubileena, W. R. Winters, and TCKing12 for requesting!**

The next morning, Cherry hopped out of bed and ran down the main road that lead into town as fast as her little feet would carry her. She had found something she needed to share with her new friends.

She rapped gently on the door of the pumpkin shaped house, wagering that Gloyd probably lived there. The boy himself came to the door, a piece of toast clutched in his hand, his hair wet and sticking up at the back. "Hey, Cherry! What brings you here so early in the morning?" Cherry grinned at him "It's ten o'clock Gloyd." She said, giggling.

The pumpkin boy eyebrows shot up. "It is? Oops…"

He leant against the door frame. "So, what did my favourite mermaid want to tell me?"

Cherry blushed a light shade of pink, then said "I was out exploring this morning, and I found something amazing! You have to see it!" Gloyd chuckled. "Okay. Let me just finish my toast, then we'll drive wherever you want to go. You're the boss."

They went into Gloyd's little house as he finished his breakfast, which had, Cherry noticed, a lot of boxes labelled 'do not sit on'. When Gloyd noticed her confused face, he answered "Pranking supplies."

Eventually, they got out and ran over to the garage.

It was a tall building, near the end of racer's street, made out of cookies. Inside, it was like a big open warehouse, with walls that didn't reach the ceiling – not even close – fencing off each racer's section. Gloyd led Cherry past Torvald's section, and they giggled as they caught the golden girl dancing around and singing along to the radio as she repaired her kart; Swizzle's, where he was cursing profoundly at his kart, which was leaking syrup; and Taffyta's where the pink girl smiled at them and waved, consequently accidently dropping a board on Sakura's head.

Finally, they got to Gloyd's section, which had jars of candy corn on the walls, messy desks with paper pushed to the side, posters tacked onto the wall lazily so they hung crookedly, and in the midst of it all, the Kernel sat, gleaming like it had just been polished.

Gloyd strode over to it, and waved a hand at it: "The Kernel – my pride and joy!" He said, grinning. Then, he held the door open, and they were faced with a problem. The Kernel was only built for one person.

"Oh… oops. I don't suppose you have a kart, do you?" Said the pumpkin boy. Cherry smiled. "Nope. Guess we'll have to squash in together."

Gloyd agreed, and let Cherry get in first, pushing herself up against the other side of the seat, as Gloyd sunk in next to her, cheeks burning orange at the close contact.

They drove out of the garage, Swizzle smirking at Gloyd and making kissy faces whilst Cherry was looking the other way.

"So Cherry, where are we headed?" Said Gloyd, trying to put some space between himself and the girl next to him, and failing.

"Um, I don't know exactly, but it was in that direction." She said, waving in the opposite direction. They zoomed off, Cherry letting out a cry of delight – she'd never been in something this fast before.

After driving around for ages, the two teens had become more relaxed. Cherry slowly, tentatively, leaned into Gloyd's side, and he, feeling his arm was squashed, was forced to move it – the only place it could go being around her shoulders.

Eventually, Cherry pointed them back in the right direction, managing to keep Gloyd from realising he'd drove in a complete circle. They pulled to a stop next to one of the bigger chocolate mountains that encircled the main town. Gloyd frowned at Cherry. "Are you sure whatever you wanted to show me was here? I've driven round this mountain hundreds of time, and never seen anything." He said sceptically, but Cherry just rolled her eyes and pushed playfully at him. "Of course I'm sure!" She said, and they got out of the kart.

She led him to a small gathering of plants at the base of the mountain. "You see, it's because of these that I was able to figure it out. These are taffycynths, and they only grow where there's a lot of water. So I had a look around, but I couldn't find any, so I came back here, and that's when I saw this…" She said, as she pressed her hand against the mountain's side. Gloyd watched in amazement as her hand passed through the seemingly solid surface, little bits of code showing up bright blue.

"Wow! That's awesome!" He said, pushing his hand through too. The air inside the mountain was a little cooler, but had a strange moistness about it. He turned to grin at Cherry, who grinned back and then, withdrawing her hand, walked inside entirely. Gloyd yelped, and stuck his head through.

"Jeez Cherry, you nearly gave me a code attack!" He said, as he followed her through. She just smiled again, and grabbed his hand, going running down the tunnel they'd come into. When there was only one turn left, she turned and said "Ok, now you close your eyes."

"You're the boss." Gloyd said without hesitation. He felt her lead him round the last bend and into a more open space. Then, she said "Open your eyes."

He did, and gasped.

They were on a ledge above an enormous cavern, which shined with a blueish green light. Looking down, he saw the biggest pond he'd ever seen – it was more of a lake then a pond. It glowed different colours thanks to the luminous algae growing on the sides, and the still, crystal clear water seemed to invite him in.

He looked at Cherry, who was looking at him expectantly. In the new light, she looked deathly pale, and her hair looked almost black – she looked like a ghoul. Gloyd liked ghouls – they were Halloween spirits.

"And you're telling me you discovered this entire cavern just by looking at some plants?" Said the pumpkin boy, cracking a smile. Cherry smiled at him. "Yup! Look, you can see how high up we are, the water's right underneath us…" She said, leaning towards the edge of the ledge.

She had forgotten who she was with. A playful shove landed on her back, and suddenly she was airborne, flying down towards the water, screaming "GLLOOOOOYYDD!" as her companion laughed.

She landed in the water, and felt her legs fuse again. She took a deep breath, letting the water fill her lungs gladly. Her vision sharpened, and her hearing improved – so she could hear Gloyd laughing at her. She giggled mischievously, and swam further down.

Meanwhile, Gloyd had stopped laughing and was starting to get worried. Why hadn't Cherry come up yet? Could she breathe? He saw a few bubbles reach the surface, followed by nothing.

Now he started to panic. He pulled of his shirt and shoes, and rolled up his trousers, placing his hat beside them, ready to jump in. Could Cherry regenerate?

But just as he was about to jump in, she flew into the air, as high as the ledge, arms outstretched, tail glimmering in the light, looking at him deviously. Then, she grabbed his hand and pulled him down into the water with her.

Gloyd thought process when something like: Oh thank mod she's ok – why is she looking at me like that? – Oh crepe!

He screamed bloody murder as they fell towards the water's surface, his companion whooping at the top of her lungs.

As they reached the lake's surface and the water engulfed them, Gloyd only registered a few things. The water was a lot warmer then he'd expected, and he was surprised he could see just as well as normal with the algae. But mostly the hands that clasped his own.

Cherry looked at him, her hair spreading out in a halo around her face. He smiled at her, and then kicked for the surface.

They trod water together and just laughed for a second. Then, she turned to look at him, blushing a slight pink. "Well? What did you think?"

Gloyd raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. "Well, I didn't bring any actually swimwear, and the entry was very dramatic-" Cherry snorted. "You pushed me in!"

Gloyd's smirk widened. "Yeah, it was hilarious. I should have taken a video."

She splashed him playfully, then they spent the rest of the afternoon swimming around the lake and then, when they were both winded, they sat on the sandy shore and Gloyd told her about all his pranks.

Eventually, they decided it was time to leave, and Cherry showed Gloyd to some ladder like indentions she'd found on the side on the cliff that had the ledge on top. They started climbing, but had barely gotten two metres from the floor when Gloyd slipped, his feet still wet. He landed on his back with an 'oof' and Cherry turn to see what was wrong.

But she turned too quickly, and slipped off as well! She felling with a yelp right onto of Gloyd, their heads smashing together. Both of them blushed ferociously as their eyes met. Then Cherry, being the impulsive girl she was, lowered her lips onto Gloyd's.

The racer was shocked, to say the least, but slowly he began to enjoy himself. When Cherry pulled away, she had turned a bright shade of red matching her name, and he was pretty sure he was blushing orange as well, as he cleared his throat and said "You know, we really shouldn't climb that cliff whilst we're still soaked."

Cherry nodded in agreement. "Let's stay here until we're dry again."

Gloyd smiled at her. "You're the boss."

* * *

Ginger could tell something was different about Cherry. She sounded a lot happy than usual, and considering that she was always happy, this was a hard thing to achieve.

She sat down next to her friend. "What's got you so chipper?" She said, throwing an arm around her. Cherry giggled; "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Aw, c'mon, spill!" said Ginger, giving her friend a playful shove. Laughing, Cherry recounted the entire story.

At first, Ginger felt slightly jealous. Gloyd had sounded like a nice person, and he was funny as well. Ginger had started to crush on him ever so slightly. But the way her friend's voice filled with excitement made her happy for Cherry, so she decided to let it go.

As their discussion came to a close, Giger heard footsteps behind her. Her heightened hearing told her it was probably Jubilee, from the way the person was throwing their heels down, but she hoped she was wrong.

Unfortunately, she wasn't.

"Well, if it isn't the freak and the blind girl. You know, you two make quite the dynamic duo." She said, a cruel lilt to her voice as she leant over the back of their chairs. The smile slipped from Ginger's face – she hated being reminded of her eyes. It was true that she was blind – she must have been programmed like this – but Jubilee didn't have to point it out all the time. But she was too timid to say anything about it. However, she could almost feel the rage coming off Cherry.

"What do you want Jubilee?" Said Ginger quickly, before Cherry went mental. "I need to talk to you – alone. Where's your bear? Tell him to get you to my caravan in five minutes." Said Jubilee, then she walked away.

Then, Cherry went mental.

"I hate her sooo much! She just has to ruin every happy moment, doesn't she? Ugh, she's sooo annoying! And cruel! And…" As her friend ranted on, Ginger thought to herself about what Jubilee could need her for.

* * *

On that same day, around lunch, Ron made his way in the Sugar Square. It was quite beautiful; shops and restaurants surrounded the little plaza, which had cobblestones of jelly beans with brown sugar as a mortar. Little tables were sat outside the restaurants with little parasols on them, to keep the hot sun from beating down on them. The main attraction of the Square was the enormous chocolate fountain in the middle, made of whitish pink sugar like the castle, smooth melted chocolate drizzling out of the top basin into the next, and then down to the main pool to be sent straight back up again.

At one of the tables sat Crumbelina. In the sun, her skin glowed, and the frown on her face made her eyes stand out even more – wait, why was she frowning?

Then he realised who was standing in front of her. Swizzle. She and Swizzle seemed to be arguing about something, as he was moving his hands a lot and talking very fast.

Ron walked over quickly, just in time to hear Swizzle say "You know what, I don't care what you're going to say! Have a nice afternoon, your Majesty." His voice dripping with sarcasm. Then he stalked off, followed by Cynth, who'd just come out of the shop and was looking between them all bewilderedly.

The cinnamon boy sat down next to Crumbelina, then asked "What was that about?" She jumped slightly, then smiled. "Hi Ron! And that was just Swizzle being an idiot, as usual." She said, glaring after the unicorn pop boy.

Ron frowned slightly. He was starting to dislike Swizzle. He made unneeded comments and he always seemed to turn up whenever Ron and Crumbelina were together to be annoying.

Crumbelina noticed his face and said "Oh don't worry; he's always like that. You get used to him – at least, I think I will one day."

Ron laughed and sat down, and they had lunch together at the little café, named café chocolat. Then, they started on their tour of Sugar Rush. Crumbelina showed him the track, then they went to the garage so he could see her kart. They spent about an hour walking around the mountains, and nearly got run over by Gloyd and Cherry in the Kernel, and then Crumbelina took Ron to Lollifalls, one of the most beautiful places in Sugar Rush.

"Wow." Said Ron, as they climbed up the last of about a hundred steep steps carved into the cliff face.

And it was true that Lollifalls was amazing. The cliff was so high you were only a few feet under the candyfloss clouds, the lower ones brushing your head as you walked under them. There was the river, which wound lazily over a bed of lollipops, until it tumbled over the edge of the cliff and fell into the ocean, which you could see for miles from the height they were at. Its turquoise waters sparkled and shimmered in the sun, encircling small sugar islands and the tops of candy coral reefs, the homes to millions of Swedish fish and haribo crocodiles.

"I know right? The very first week we were plugged in, I was out exploring with Jubileena and Adorabeezle, and we chanced upon this!" Said Crumbelina, sitting next to the river and dipping her feet in it. "The water's the warmest on the whole of Sugar Rush; must be because it's so near to the sun."

They spent the rest of the day on Lollifalls, with a picnic, and then went their separate ways and returned home in high spirits.

* * *

Earlier that day, Damon, Cynethia and Lucy had gone down to have a look around the town. They had met up with Swizzle, who had given them all a code attack by suddenly emerging from a big cookie building they were looking around, covered from head to toe in oil. Seeing as it was still reasonably early, Swizzle showed them Racers' street, getting them to guess which one was which for all of the racers different houses, then popped inside his own house for five minutes to get clean clothes on. When he emerged, Vanellope and Jubileena were talking to the others, and they split into smaller groups – Damon, Jubileena, Lucy and Vanellope heading towards the castle, whilst Cynethia opted to stay with Swizzle and pop into Sugar Square, because she wanted to see the main town. They were just popping into café chocolat to get some takeaways for lunch when they ran into Crumbelina.

As Cynethia entered the café, Crumbs smirked at Swizzle. "Your latest fling, eh?"

Swizzle glared at her. "She's a friend, Crumbs. Not that I can say the same about you."

Crumbelina raised an eyebrow. "Really, I wouldn't want you to. You're not my kind of person."

"Oh, and what is your kind, a rich gentleman with a snobby accent?" Swizzle snorted.

Crumbelina's eyes narrowed. "Well at least some people have class, Swizz." She said, using his preferred nickname almost as an insult. And…" She said, smirking once more. "Dedication."

Swizzle pointed at her. "Do not bring this up. I will run you over if you bring this up."

"You broke her heart, Swizz!" Said Crumbelina, nearly shouting. "Why do you not want me to bring it up? To ruin your reputation?" She said, spitting the words at him.

"Listen, your Highness, I know what I did and I'm not proud of it, but she contributed to the problem as well! You can pin all the blame on me!" Crumbelina sneered, and opened her mouth, but Swizz held up a hand. "You know what, I don't care what you're going to say! Have a nice afternoon, your Majesty." He said, as Cynethia came out the café, sandwiches in hand.

He stalked off, Cynethia in tow. He expected her to say something like 'why we're you arguing?' or what was that all about?' But she didn't. She just put a hand on his arm and made him stop, then turned him around to face her.

"You alright Swizz?" Was all she said, her voice full of concern.

Swizzle was shocked. Not many people showed him this kind of compassion, especially when the subject of his faithfulness came up. But then he remembered she wasn't here when it happened – if she had been, she'd probably be treating him the same as Crumbelina.

"Yeah it's just… well, let's just say me and Crumbelina have always rubbed each other the wrong way. I'm confident, laidback, amazingly awesome," she laughed. He felt a bit better. "And she's snobby, arrogant, and very traditional."

"Don't worry, I get it. That's how most of us at the circus are with Darkheart – though she's ten times worse." Said Cynethia, her face darkening. "But when we've got people like each other, it's okay right?" She said, punching him playfully in the shoulder.

Swizzle smiled – the first true smile of friendship he had smiled in a while.

"Yeah. It's okay."

* * *

Meanwhile, the others from earlier had gone to the castle. Vanellope was showing them the hall she had playfully nicknamed 'the hall of racers doing stuff', which had portraits of all the racers in victory positions, then, at the very end in the spotlight position, a portrait of Vanellope, on her throne, with all the racers gathered around her, all of them smiling and looking as happy as could be.

Lucy ran up the hallway immediately to look at the big one, Vanellope following after her. Damon, meanwhile, stayed to look at one of the berry sisters, holding one handle of a shared trophy in their hands, lifting it in the air. He heard a chuckle behind him, and Jubileena's voice say "I remember when they were painting that. We had to stand there for ages, holding a really heavy trophy, and eventually Citri got so fidgety that she threw her side of it down and stormed off. She's always been a little impatient."

Damon turned to face the racer and smiled. "Which one of you is older then?"

"Well, we're twins, but technically it's Citri, however everyone thinks it's me because I'm sliiightly more mature, and technically she's my recolour." Said Jubileena.

Damon looked thoughtful. "So… am I technically Gloyd's recolour then?" Jubileena shrugged. "I don't know. Considering you're an NPC, I don't know if you count as a recolour. But we like to oppose thinking people are lesser because their recolours – as long as you've got your own name and personality, you're fine."

"Like how Jubilee looks kind of like you, and her first name is slightly similar." Offered Damon. "I … suppose so…" Said Jubileena, but she was hesitant. The feeling she had when she looked at Jubilee, it was very different from the feeling she got with Citri. "But … she's also an NPC, so I don't know if it counts."

Damon nodded, then got a packet of dum-dums out of his pocket. He offered one to Jubileena, then they turned to look at the big picture, in front of which the other two girls were having a very animated discussion.

"That is some President you got there." Said Damon, an affectionate amusement to his voice. Jubileena glanced sideways at him, to find him looking at Vanellope the same way the girl herself looked at Rancis. As the 'Vanellope-acclaimed' love expert around Sugar Rush, she saw these things. Surprising herself, the first thing that came into her head was not jealousy, or sadness, but worry for the boy who stood beside her. She didn't want him getting his heart broken because Vanellope was in love with Rancis. But before she could come up with anything to say, the two raven-haired girls ran up to them.

"Whatcha waiting around for? C'mon, let's go!" Said Lucy, gesturing towards the throne room. The four teens ran off, just deciding to enjoy each other's friendship for now.

Later that evening, Damon was playing call of duty with Jake when he saw Ginger wandering around outside. He was going to ask her if she needed help, but then she turned and he saw Miito on her shoulder, so he shrugged it off and went back to playing.

Ginger carried on past the noise of Jake's games, and continued to Jubilee's caravan. She had thought all day but couldn't think of anything the girl needed to tell her that was so important it had to be done in secret. Cherry had wanted to come with her and stand outside, but Ginger had refused. She didn't think Jubilee would hurt her – would she?

She reached the caravan, which Miito had told her was dark red, with black hearts pained on it. Of course, it was the same basic design as all the others, so Ginger could find the door easily. She knocked on it politely, and waited, more than a little nervous.

She heard the door open a crack, then Jubilee's voice saying "Leave the bear outside. He can't come in." Miito was going to protest, but Ginger put her hand up to silence him. Grumbling, he hopped off her shoulder and walked back towards their caravan.

Jubilee grabbed Ginger a little roughly by the arm and pulled her inside. Ginger felt the air cool down, and to her right she could hear a load of paper on the wall, rustling thanks to the slight breeze from the door.

"That's one of the reasons I wanted you, you know." She heard Jubilee say to her right. "Being blind, you can't exactly see my plans. Also, your hearing could come in great use to us."

Ginger picked up on that one word. "Us." So whatever Jubilee was planning, someone else was in on it too.

"W-why do you need me?" Said Ginger, trying to stop her voice from quavering. "Besides the reasons I already gave you? We need someone close to … certain members of the circus."

Ginger swallowed. "If you're trying to hurt my friends, then I won't do anything for you!" she said, trying to be strong. "Oh, I'm not trying to hurt them; at least, not yet…" Said Jubilee with a dark laugh. "Anyway, I'll give you a choice, curly. Either you can help us, or…" Ginger could practically hear her sneer. "I'll tell everyone about your little secret."

Ginger laughed shakily. "You think I care if anyone knows I'm blind?"

Jubilee chuckled. "Oh no, not that one. The _other_ one. I don't think you want that one … leaking, do you?"

Ginger's eyes widened. She couldn't know… she couldn't… but she did. And if she told the others… told them about Ginger's…problems, what would they think of her? They'd think she was some sort of mutant.

"Fine. I'll do it."

A malicious smile spread across Jubilee's face. Everything was going her way.

 **The plot thickens!**

 **Please tell me what you think! I'd love feedback!**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Sugar Rush Circus Chapter 5**

 **So, recap:**

- **Racers made friends with circus performers**

 **-Jubilee is working with someone unknown and blackmailing Ginger**

 **What is going on? Read to find out…**

About four weeks later, the circus was doing their final show. Having built such positive relationships with their new friends in Sugar Rush, they had decided to stay there for about a month, but eventually they had to move on.

Ron had gone to see Crumbelina in her garage section the morning before the show. He got there and stood in the doorway for a second, just watching her.

She was wearing an old pair of jeans and a shirt, as opposed to her usual classy attire. Her kart engine was in pieces and she had her head buried in the bonnet, humming as she tinkered around with something inside. She was usually so proper and polite, it was refreshing to see her with her hands dirty for once.

Eventually, he cleared his throat to signal his presence. Her head jerked out of the bonnet.

"Oh, hello Ron!" She greeted warmly, wiping her hand on the cloth in her pockets before going to kiss him on the cheek.

"Hello Crumbs! What are you working on?"

"Oh, just some fault in my engine. Why're you here?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Do I need a good reason? 'Cause I don't have one."

She giggled. "I guess not. Last show today, right?"

He nodded. This afternoon would be their big finale. Every show they'd done so far had been a full house, and had been met with tremendous approval. Next, they were going to take the boat to Bonboningham, then to New Citriland. At least, that was as much of the plan as Ron knew.

"Well, in that case, would it really hurt to tell me how your act works?" Said Crumbs, giving him puppy dog eyes. He chuckled. She'd been bugging him for weeks now to explain how his act worked.

"Well, seeing as it is the last show, I'll tell you, as long as you don't spread it around Sugar Rush."

She laughed. "I won't tell anyone, I swear! Not even Anna!"

"Okay then. You see, the swords we use as our opening act are actually blunted – there's no way we can hurt ourselves on them. The worst we'd get is a bruise. And as for the wheel…" He shrugged. "That's just skill, honey."

She raised an eyebrow. "I swear, it is!" He exclaimed. "Just ask Crimson!"

She frowned gently. "About Crimson: I … I can never seem to quite get a grasp on her, you know? She always seems a little… preoccupied."

Ron smirked. "Crimson's always like that. You just got to get past all the busy-ness!" he said, but Crumbelina remained unsure.

* * *

Back at the circus, preparations were already underway. Jake had just finished helping with the pool when Twistella ran up to him.

The poor girl was in a terrible state. She had tears running openly down her flushed cheeks, and she was gulping great hiccupping sobs. He ran over to her.

"Twist, what's wrong?"

She bawled loudly and threw her arms around him, pinning his own to his side. He squirmed, uncomfortable with the sudden contact, but she just muttered something muffled and then lifted her head to look up at him with her big, watery orange eyes.

"Um, how about you tell me what happened, Twist?" He said, trying for a smile even though all the while he was desperately trying to pull his arms out of her death grip.

"The problem, as you will see,

is that Jubilee is angry with me."

Jake had never quite gotten used to her weird way of talking. He had never, ever heard her utter anything that was not in rhyme. But she was still pinning his arms, so he decided to let it go for now and said: "Why? What did you do?"

She gazed into his eyes once more with her own.

"Ah, you see, our great ball of metal,

has gone rolling through the flower petals."

She said, finally releasing him and pointing behind her, where Jake could see a path of destruction with the ball of metal rolling away in the distance.

"Ah. Right. Well, how 'bout-"

He was cut off by Jubilee's voice worming it's way into their ears like smoke – dark and foreboding. "Ah, here we are, everyone' pet idiot – and of course their favourite redneck." She sneered, glaring at them in turn. The 'pet idiot' in question gulped again, wiping her cheeks, whilst Jake slid an arm round her waist defensively. "What do you want Jubilee?"

"Ha! What do I want? Well, maybe to have a little chat with Twisted over here about that!" She barked, gesturing over her shoulder. Twistella flinched. Jake pulled her closer, but he was starting to doubt himself. This always happened when Jubilee was around – he'd feel almost blind, because he could never see her next move, and he was always blundering around like a fool.

"So come on, Twisted. I have some things to tell you…" She said, grabbing the smaller girl's arm rather roughly and pulling her away. Twistella cast one last tearful look over her shoulder at Jake before they rounded the corner.

* * *

Somehow, they had managed to get everything ready. Kevin had no idea how, but that's why he hired Jubilee. The girl ran the circus like nobody's business, and she kept the rest of them in shape – the others sometimes complained to him about her, but he knew the kind of person she was: tough, a bit bossy, 'rule with an iron fist' kind of person, and just what the circus needed.

He straightened his bow tie and looked in the mirror. Just for once, he indulged in a moment of vanity as he admired himself. He did look rather sharp in his new tie.

* * *

Crimson tore through the caravans.

 _Not much time, not much time…_

She could feel the others looking at her strangely, but she ignored them. She knew they were all suspicious about her anyway.

 _Got to get there, go to get there…_

Suddenly, she collided with something – or rather someone. Tumbling to the ground, she looked up to find Lucy looking down at her.

"Jeez, Crimson, how fast? You'll outrun a kart at that rate!" Chuckled the other girl, pulling Crimson to her feet. Immediately, the other girl took off, running like the wind.

"A thank you would do?"

* * *

Ginger braced herself on the edge of her bed. This was it. The last show. And also… she shuddered.

Also, her first task for Jubilee.

* * *

Finally, it was time.

The candy fans crowded the stands. The tent was alive, light up with millions of fairy lights to keep out the gloom from outside. The hum of chatter heightened the nerves of every performer as the waited backstage.

Damon ran through a sequence, muttering to himself. Cherry practised her bow and wave. Cynth polished her motorcycle. Kevin tried to sallow his stage fright.

Unfortunately, he didn't succeed. He wrung his hands together, until he felt another hand on his wrists.

"Don't do that. You'll give yourself an Indian burn." Said Lucy, prising his hands apart. "C'mon, we've done five shows in the last month, how bad can it be?" She saw his face. "Oh crepe. It is bad. Well Kevin, think about it this way: if we mess this up, at least we can move on straight away, am I right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Thanks sis."

Together, they walked out for the last show.

* * *

Her hand stroked the surface she was lying on. It was cool under her fingertips, but riddled with bumps and cracks. She couldn't see anything; it was pitch black.

Her hands ran over one crack that was deeper than the others. She felt it shudder at her touch, then, to her horror, it started to open, slowly and ominously. Red light spilled forth, the foreboding colour making her back away in a panic. Suddenly her back hit a wall. She struggled to her feet and ran along the length of the wall, desperately searching for an exit. The dim light didn't spread to one end of the room, so she ran for the darkness, as far away from the crack as possible.

But the light crept upwards, revealing to her the full room. She found herself staring at her own reflection; scared and alone. Behind the figure, she could see the crack, taking up half the floor now, moving towards her like a serpent.

It opened, splitting the ground beneath her feet. She slipped and tumbled into the crack, grabbing at the sides and screaming herself hoarse as she fell.

Then, suddenly, it was over.

She awoke from the nightmares plaguing her sleep. Her hands flew to her face in a panic. She felt a strip of fabric winding round her head, covering her eyes. She tugged at it but it was just too tight to get off.

She felt the floor around her. It felt like the wood of her home, but it was splintered and had an uneven feel to it.

Where was she? The last thing she remembered was saying goodnight to her sister and going to sleep in her room. But this definitely wasn't her room.

She heard a slight noise to her right - the sound of someone breathing softly. She hadn't even though about her kidnappers. Who were they? What did they want with her?

"Wh-who are you?" She asked, her voice shaking with fear as she pulled her legs up to her chest.

She heard a laugh - a laugh she knew well, a high, silvery laugh.

"Why, racer, it is only me -

but I am not exactly who I seem."

 **DUN DUN DUUUUN!**

 **Put your hand up if you were expecting me not to include the show in this chapter! Well, there you go, I can be predictable.**

 **Thanks to anyone still reading, even though my updates are taking a while. Hope you're all still enjoying it!**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing out for the night! Goodnight!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry about not updating! I … you got me. I haven't really got an excuse.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the final Cirque du Sucre show of Mainland Sugar Rush!" Bellowed Kevin, holding his arms out to the crowd. "You are in for a treat today, as all our acts are pulling out all the shots today!" Continued Lucy, grinning at the crowd. "So please enjoy…" Kevin started, reaching into his pockets:

"OUR FINAL SHOW!" Boomed the speakers.

The audience cheered, and the two siblings walked backstage once more. "Showtime!" Shouted Lucy.

First up was Damon. He smiled and waved as he walked out into the ring, and then suddenly stopped dead and pointed to the sky. The audience all look up, and saw to their joy small cannons on the side of the side of the big top fire dum dums attached to small parachutes, which floated down gracefully into the crowd.

Damon took a deep breath and petted the head of his foxes. Then they sprang of to their platforms. Any minute now, the platforms would raise into the sky and the music would start.

But, to his horror, it didn't. He stood there for nearly a whole minute before he realise what had happened, the audience coughing awkwardly and starting at him. The technical team had forgotten to turn on the music – but they'd never forget. Which means that they weren't able to. Petrified, he stood a while longer, stuck in a pose, until he eventually came to the realisation that standing around wasn't doing anything. He might have hesitated a bit longer, had he not looked up to see the President looking at him with a befuddled expression. Shame flooded through him and he ran backstage, refusing to talk to any of his fellow performers and running out of the top.

Meanwhile, Kevin was horrified. "Where's the music?" He hissed at the managing staff, but they just shook their heads frantically and pointed at the screen, where the music, which had been there this morning, was clearly not now.

He felt nails grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the entrance to the ring. "Just say that there are technical difficulties!" He heard Jubilee whisper before he was thrust out into the light.

"Um… sorry folks, it appears we are having some minor technical difficulties, so Damon will not be able to perform until later on. In the meantime, he hopes you all enjoy your dum dums!" Said Kevin, tugging at his collar nervously.

"Anyway, will move on to our next act: Jester Twistella!"

The audience brightened visibly. Twistella could always make them laugh, and her acts were different every time.

This time, a small train weaved its way out of the backstage entrance, a member of the managing staff driving it round and round. Twistella was standing on top of the very last carriage, waving enthusiastically at the audience. Net to her, there was a tall pipe, which curved like an upside down drain at the top, and out of the end of the pipe dangled a small rope, with a wooden handle on the end.

Twistella waved once more, then turned to this rope. She frowned. Grabbed the wooden handle and tugged, but it didn't budge. She pulled again, but nothing happened. She frowned comically at the audience and grabbed on as hard as she could, and tugged and tugged with all her might. Slowly, she took steps backwards, until eventually she reached the front of the train. The strain showed itself obviously on her face, she was panting and seemed to have reached her limit – but then she gave one last almighty tug, and an enormous quacking noise boomed through the speakers. Twistella jumped, startled, and then was pulled back towards the end of the train at a breakneck speed. At first she seemed only slightly worried – this was obviously part of the performance – but as she shot towards the pipe, for a brief second a genuine frown could be seen on her face as her lips parted. But then she slammed into the metal of the pipe, and slumped to the floor in a crumpled heap. The audience gasped with horror, and there were screams heard as she stared to slip of the train. Luckily, the managing staff were quick, and the one driving the train stopped just in time for the others to catch Twistella. They carried her backstage, the train tailing behind.

Backstage, the other circus performers gasped in horror as well. Several of them gathered around Twistella, the show forgotten for a second, but then Lucy heard the mutters of the audience outside, and tore herself, along with Crimson and Ron, away from Twistella and out into the spotlights.

"Don't worry folks, Jester Twistella is receiving medical attention as we speak!" Shouted Lucy over the murmurs of the audience, valiantly trying to sound confident and in control. It didn't work, by the looks Ron and Crimson were giving her.

"So, now, we'll have our sword fighting knife throwing duo, Crimson and Ron!" She shouted, then hurried back to the backstage entrance. Ron glanced at Crimson. "Did you bring the knives?" She nodded, and threw one to him. It wasn't his usual, but it would do, in a pinch. He did notice something a little off about it though…

But he had no time to hesitate, as Crimson was already bringing her sword slicing through the air, and he only just blocked it in time. As the audience quietened down to watch this amazing display of swordsmanship, he felt slightly more in control again. It would be alright – Twist would be fine, the rest of the show would go fine, nothing would mess up too badly… As he convinced himself of these things, he failed to notice the desperate look on Crimson's face, like a wild animal, as she swung her blade in a way that way completely unorthodox to her usual style…

Suddenly he felt a searing pain in his left arm. He looked down, dazed, to see the deep cut, bubbling with blood, and felt faint. He looked up, and saw Crimson, staring at his arm with a look of absolute horror. Finally he saw, in the audience, Crumbelina, eyes wide in shock, mouth ajar, and then he fell to the ground, crimson red soaking the dirt beneath him.

* * *

Crumbelina jumped to her feet. Ron had said the blades were blunt and dull! She stifled a scream as she saw the blood dripping out of the cut and started to move her way across the seats. She'd gotten to the fence into the ring when a security candy moved in front of her.

"Please stay in the seating area miss, we need tiger the stretcher through..."

"But he's my boyfriend!" She cried to no avail, as she watched the medical team pile Ron onto a stretcher and out of the ring.

Kevin came on stage. "We apologise to everyone for the three disasters you have just witnessed, but we would like to call our break early so we can attend to our wounded performers. Please make sure to come back later!" He shouted, sounding increasingly desperate as the audience left with a chorus of disapproving mutters.

As soon as most of the audience had trickled out, Crumbelina shouted at Kevin. "Kevin! I need to see Ron! Now!"

Kevin fingered with his collar nervously. On the one hand, he didn't want Ron to be put under any stress, or make Crumbelina overly worried, but on the other hand, it's hard to deny someone something when they're looking at you with such desperation in their voice and fire in their eyes.

"Look, Crumbs, with all due respect, I don't really think you should go in there. The medics probably need a bit of space, and I doubt Ron would like it if you were there when they stitched his arm up."

He had been expecting protest, but Crumbelina just seemed to crumble. "I guess you're right. If you don't mind, I'll just stay here."

Kevin nodded, and walked back into the backstage area. All the performers were gathered around the computer with the managing staff, excepting Ron of course.

"What just happened?" Shouted Kevin as soon as he got inside. "Where was the music?"

"We don't know!" Moaned the worker at the computer, typing frantically. "It was here yesterday evening when I turned the computer off, and when I went to play it: it was gone! It's like it's been deleted, it's vanished!"

Kevin rubbed his temples. "Well what happened with the train?"

Twistella turned towards him, a silly smile on her face. She said:

"You see, the magnets did not stop me,

from running into the metal tree!"

She giggled loudly, and Kevin turned to the doctors and raised his eyebrows. "We gave her a health potion – it seems to have some unintended side effects. It's like nothing I've ever seen before." Answered one of them, frowning at the girl in confusion.

Kevin sighed and turned to Crimson. And why exactly were the swords sharp?"

Crimson looked strangely calm for the situation. She bit her lip, and the said in a low voice "They shouldn't have been. I don't know what happened." Kevin frowned in suspicion. She didn't exactly sound sure of herself…

Suddenly, the voice of Jubilee penetrated the sombre mood. "Well, I think we should simply get back to work and finish the show, no matter what happens. And hopefully," she continued, letting the word linger, "we won't have any more accidents."

They all nodded, and got back to work on their various projects. As soon as Kevin's back was turned, Jubilee grabbed Crimson's arm. "Listen up Crunch," she whispered menacingly, "I know you had something to do with those swords, and I will see you sacked if anything like this happens again." She pushed the girl away before she could protest, and dismissed her with a single wave.

* * *

Finally, they were ready to bring the people back in. Unfortunately, only half the people came back. Kevin tugged at his collar nervously as the much diminished audience took their seats, happy at least that all the racers had come back.

He cleared his throat, and turned on his microphone – which unfortunately sent a loud jolt of feedback through the speakers. Ready to bolt now, but steeling his nerves, he spoke.

"We would like to convey our sincerest apologies about the opening of the show, assure you that this has never happened before. We would also like to assure that our injured performers are in no serious condition – they will make a full recovery. Furthermore…"

As Kevin apologised over and over again to the audience, Cynethia stood just in the entrance, with her motorcycle, checking it once more.

"Something wrong?" She heard. She straightened and turned to face the speaker. "No, I've checked everything. Brakes, acceleration, steering … I guess I'm just feeling a little jumpy." She was answered with an agreeing noise. "Mind if I take a look?" Cynethia laughed faintly, and then moved to the side. "Be my guest."

Her fellow performer ran her hands over the side of the bike, then went round to the other side. "Cynth!" Came another voice from behind her. "Cherry!" Smiled the taller girl, ruffling the shorter one's hair as she turned away from the bike. Cherry pushed her hand away. "I just wanted to say good luck – and please don't get hurt." There came a laugh from behind them. "I don't think that's likely to happen. She's checked these to the extreme. Probably even a little too much."

Cynethia smiled wryly. "Ok, ok…"

"… And now I present to you our next act, Cynethia Ci Garette!" Said Kevin, managing a quick bow before the lights went down. He heard the sound of the metal as he hurried backstage, and whispered a quick good luck to Cynth, but was only barely back through the entrance before the lights came back up. Gosh, the managing team were fast!

Cynethia wheeled her bike into the harsh light of the ring, waving at the audience. When she got in the wheel, she turned to face them once more, her bike leaning into her side slightly. "Hello Sugar Rush!" She shouted, "So, how many times should I go round today?"

There were varying cries, from "None!" from a rather scared looking popcorn piece to "One Hundred!" from a gumball who had painted himself entirely orange. Cynethia laughed under her breath, then pointed at a small candy corn fan. "You! Yeah, candy corn girl! What's your name?"

The girl looked rather surprised at being singled out, but she said, in a clear voice, "My name's Kinsey." Cynethia grinned. "Right Kinsey, how many loops do you think I should do?"

"Five!" She shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. "You got it!" Said Cynethia, as she climbed onto her bike.

She zoomed off, and went round once. "ONE!" boomed the speakers. She didn't even stop, and did another one. "TWO!" boomed the speakers once more. And again: "THREE!" boomed the speakers, this time with some the audience joining in. "FOUR!" boomed the speakers and the audience, as Cynethia went speeding round, practically a blur now. "FIVE!" shouted the audience and the speakers, as the audience cheered with jubilation.

Cynethia grinned to herself as she turned the brake handle. But, to her absolute horror, the bike did not respond at all. She pushed down on her back brake, and the suddenly went flying forwards as the acceleration kicked in.

The audience muttered in confusion as she went screeching round the wheels, practically leaving a trail of smoke. They figured she was just going for a victory lap and cheered, but the cheers died down when they heard her the sounds she was making.

Cynethia was screaming, strangled gasps of "HELP!" escaping her, desperately trying to keep the speeding bike on track. The audience was frozen to their seats in horror, unable to rip their eyes away from the horrible scene before them. All, that is, except Swizzle.

"No... no..." He murmured, jumping to his feet. "Someone open the wheel! Get her out before-"

She screamed, losing her grip on the seat, hanging on only to the handlebar. The bike, with no one to control it, swerved off course. Her hands, slippery with sweat, started to slide off slowly. Her eyes widened, the orange spots dancing in terror. She screeched as she fell through the air, hitting the floor with a sickening crunch.

Several people screamed, the entire audience coming back to life at once. The bike drove on, but got caught in her skirt, and fell, missing her by only an inch. It lay next to her side, one wheel still turning at full force.

The medics ran on stage, along with all the other performers. Hope of saving the show had gone out of their minds now. The audience were panicking, staring down at Cynethia's lifeless form. Swizzle was desperately trying to climb down to the ring, Gloyd holding him back.

But before anyone could do anything, a gust of incredibly strong wind shook the top. Several pegs flew out of place, and the sides of the top flew up in the air. Audience members screamed as the wind knocked them into the aisle, then slowly crawled down towards the ring, where the great metal sphere was tipping dangerously from side to side.

As Swizzle glanced outside, he was immediately reminded of the Cy-Bug attack. The sky was a blackish green colour, the cotton candy clouds turned a dark shade of red, and the land seemed to have fallen under a shadow: everything was dark, foreboding.

The wind kept up as the racers stumbled towards the performers and each other. Swizzle noticed the recolour sisters gathering close to each other – their code was closely tied to the characters they were recolours of. He himself made his way towards Cynethia, who was surrounded by the medical team. He couldn't get through, so he turned to Kevin.

"Where's this wind come from?" Shouted the ringmaster, one hand firmly placed on his top hat. "Dunno!" Shouted Swizzle in reply. "It's never happened before!"

The words had barely escaped his mouth before the wind died suddenly. Everyone straightened and turned to one another in confusion – but then an ominous creaking came from the direction of the sphere, as it slowly tipped of its pedestal, over the medical team and the still-unconscious Cynethia. And, just when it couldn't get any worse, the ground gave an almighty heave and they all fell.

Cries echoed throughout the partially destroyed tent as the ground continued shaking. Then, just like the wind, it stopped, as quickly as it started. Swizzle got to his feet an immediately ran to help the medical team pull Cynethia out of danger – but he was too late.

 **Uh-oh!**

 **Another cliff-hanger, sorry! But I did want this story to have suspense.**

 **Well, hope you liked it! And also, sorry for not exposing kidnapper and kidnappee – I'd be happy to hear your guesses though!**

 **Also, I apologise for the complete lack of taunting nicknames that Jubilee came up with in this chapter - she's got one for Cherry, Jake, Twistella, Ginger... I just couldn't think of one for Crimson! If you have an idea, I'd be happy to hear it.**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!**


	8. Chapter 7

**This is it! The big one! The biggest revealing chapter!**

 **Not to spoil anything too early.**

 **P.S: To Twistella Creampuff; how's this for not making you wait?**

Circus chapter seven

Swizzle watched in despair as the wheel fell towards the medical team. But suddenly, there was a flash of movement, and it froze.

In fact, everything froze.

He found he couldn't move. He was stuck mid scream, jaw wide as he watched the others around him freeze as well. Then, he felt something horrible – a glitch running under his skin, illuminating his body in a pulsating, sinister red light. Something about it just felt fundamentally wrong, like it was trying to alter the very lifeblood of the game.

Then, he crumpled to the floor, along with the other racers and performers. "What… What's happening?" Asked Nougetsia, watching the last of the light fade from her hand. Swizzle ran over to Cynethia, turning her over so she was facing upwards. Her hands were cold, her face listless and still. He felt Damon kneel next to him. "Do you… Do you think she'll be ok? Cynth's like a sister to me! I can't lose her!"

Swizzle was surprised. He'd never imagined the quieter, more closed Damon being so emotional. "Well… She'll regenerate, won't she?"

Kevin turned to him. "We hope. Do NPCs regenerate?"

This was obviously only making it worse for Damon, who grew paler and grabbed Cynethia's hand.

"Um, guys? How bout we talk about, you know, the freak wind storm and hurricane?" Said Rancis, sounding very stressed. "And why we're the only ones who unfroze?"

Suddenly, the realisation came of just how quiet it was. They looked around and realise how frozen all the fans still were – a gruesome picture of despair and terror.

"I think I can answer that." Came a voice from above the entrance to the backstage area.

There stood Jubilee, red and yellow mask masking her features, but still recognisable through the tattered, burnt dress and robotic gloves she had. She took of the mask, revealing her malicious grin.

"You! You did this!" Yelled Jake, pointing up at her. Jubilee wagged her finger at him. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm afraid I'm not exactly powerful enough to pull off a masterpiece like this. So, may I present to you, my mistress." She bowed towards the gaggle below her. Everyone began d to look at each other, until they heard it.

The giggles started off small, silvery, sweet.

Then they twisted, gargled gasps replacing the previous laughter.

The girl doubled up as all the others turned to her, looks of horror on their faces. She finally stopped the horrific mirth and wiped her eyes.

"Do forgive me, for my laughter,

but it's not every day you pull of a disaster!"

Said Jester Twistella, as she began to rise off the floor, glowing with red light. Her suit was melting away, alone with her face, except those beautiful slanted orange eyes. She became a swirling mass of blood red code, eyes floating in the whirlpool.

"Also I apologise,

for only ever speaking in rhyme,

but you would have discovered me far too soon,

had I sung to my normal tune!"

Another round of gulping hiccups that could only just be mistaken for laughter came out of the virus – because that's what it was. They realised it now, feeling the fundamental wrongness of the glitch from earlier. But their knowledge had come too late. Candy people started collapsing around them, as their life blood was drawn out of them, healthy blue glitching into mutated red as it entered the storm that was once Twistella.

"But as it is tiring to speak in rhyme,

I will now pass you over to my partner in crime!"

A long strip of code broke free from the main pool, and lashed towards Jubilee. Unlike the others, it only seemed to make her stronger – she inhaled it with vigour, her eyes gleaming brighter, her gloves lighting up, her body lifting off the floor to float to Twistella's right hand side.

"Ah, thank you." Said the girl, her grin growing ever more demonic. "I love this power. Now, let's see… ah yes." She clicked her fingers, and the teens below her felt themselves slowly glitch. They were moved to a position in front of the monstrous pair in front of them, and froze in position. Jubilee wrinkled her nose. "Tricky things, the codes of racers – too complex to control completely, to delete, but easy enough to alter. I learnt that quickly." She grinned that same, evil grin.

"Now, I suppose you'll be wondering who I am. Well, it will shock you to learn that it was you pesky racers that turned me into this. For I was once one of you – I raced alongside you, I was your best friend." She spat at them. "And you were mine."

"I was the sweetest, bubbliest, kindest, and most naïve of you all. I never hesitated to help anyone in need. But what did I get in return? Nothing! You tossed me out like garbage because of one botched mission."

Little that she said was making sense to the racers, and she could read it on their faces. "Oh, you don't know yet, but you will soon. At least, you would have." She laughed darkly. "But as it happens, that's the reason I'm here."

"You see, when my mistress found me, I was not in a very good state. A horrid, glitching, mess of code, appearing at random times and disappearing at others. Any chance I had I would use to attack you. But then, one day, I opened my eyes before I glitched back into existence. And I saw where we truly go when our code had been deleted. None of you would have lasted a second."

"But then, I met mistress. She informed me that she had been feeding of deleted code in order to acquaint herself with the game and become stronger, but she needed an insider. So when I appeared, thirsty for revenge and full to the brim of bloodlust, she saw it as a perfect opportunity. So we worked together. I still only comprehend parts of it – it's far too complicated for even the most brilliant of minds to understand. Except, that is, if you're mind does not have to be occupied with other trivial tasks such as keeping your body alive."

"Mistress fed off my knowledge of the game, and my connection to it, and I in return gained some of her strength, enough to stabilise myself. I could flit between our prison of darkness and the sugar coated hive outside, and collect what we needed. Eventually, we'd made a fully programmed body for mistress. I consider it possibly my greatest achievement. There was just one flaw – she could only speak in rhyme. So that's where we got the idea. We programmed an entire circus – albeit a few borrowed characters." She smirked at the performers below her. "And then, one night, I crept into the castle and snuck into the code room. A few minutes later, we blinked into existence, and all you fools accepted it as nothing."

She smirked once more. "Now, we're going to watch you die slowly," she glared at them demonically, "At the hands of your own fans."

Another round of those horrible gasping choking sounds came from the storm, which was ever growing, it's orange eyes simply bright lights now. Then, the racers felt themselves released. They fell to the ground and looked around them with fear as their fans also came to life – each one with the same dead black eyes.

"Oh no, this is not good." Said Vanellope, as the terrified teens formed a defensive circle. "We need to get out of here. And we need to bring the performers with us."

Jubilee laughed darkly. "Run wherever you want racers. But you can't outrun us – or the army." Candy fan after candy fan were slowly picking themselves up, turning to stare with those blank, expressionless eyes at the racers. "And besides – you're forgetting about my… insurance."

"What?" Said Citrusella, taking a moment to glance up at the figures hovering above her. In the dark light of the glitching red code, she was suddenly reminded of how much Jubilee looked like her sister – then her blood ran cold. "No…"

Another laugh came, from both the whirlpool of code and its henchwoman. Within a second, the light, silvery voice that was once so pleasant filled the tent with its venom again.

"Yes Citrusella, don't you see?

Your precious sister belongs to me!"

 **Well, how was that? I, personally, really enjoyed writing it.**

 **How will the racers escape? Where is Jubileena? What does Jubilee mean by insurance? Why can't Jubilee come up with a nickname for Crimson? (Seriously guys, I need your help.)**

 **Next chapter should hopefully be up tomorrow or Wednesday – in the meantime, have fun torturing your brain with these questions!  
**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!**


	9. Chapter 8

Circus chapter eight

 **Sorry for leaving you in suspense for a while! I've been on holiday, and still am, so not much time or Wifi to update.**

 **To Twistella Creampuff: I would LOVE an animation of my work! That would be the best thing ever! Do you think you could send me a link (with spaces because this site doesn't allow other links) to your profile? Thanks!**

"Jubes! No!" Shouted Citrusella, bending her legs in preparation to launch herself at the evil figures above her. She knew something had been off with that note Jubileena had left her in the morning - she'd said she'd gone down early, to help them prepare, and then with every thing that had happened Citri hadn't bother looking for her... She was a horrible big sister. She growled, and started to jump.

Vanellope grabbed her wrist. "You can't go up against her now! We'll save Jubi when we've saved ourselves!"

By now, the fans were closing in on the racers, and the still frozen performers. They started to attack, throwing themselves at their idols and heroes with intent to kill. The racers fought them off the best they could, but it was disturbing to have to hit and attack your own fans, even when acting in self defence. Vanellope was having the best luck, until one flew through the air at her suddenly. It was one of Gloyd's fans, little Kinsey who had been asked about the loops earlier, but at the same time not her as her dead, soulless eyes gazed at Vanellope. The president glitched out of the way, through the fan, who crumpled to the floor. She was going to continue with the defence when she heard a voice behind her.

"Miss president?" Asked Kinsey, kneeling on the floor and looking around in confusion as her fellow fans attacked the other racers. Before Vanellope could react, a thread of red code darted towards her and she was gone again, turned back into a faceless soldier in Twistella's army.

The realisation clicked. Her glitch could restore people's code, briefly! Within seconds, she had formulated a plan.

"Citrusella!" She yelled to the girl beside her.

"Yeah?" Asked the blueberry teen, swatting away another fan.

"When I give the signal, jump!"

"What?"

"NOW!" Shouted Vanellope, and as Citri jumped she wrapped an arm round her waist and glitched up to the generals of the army. She stayed only for a split second, but it was long enough for Citrusella to get the idea and push off Vanellope, flying towards Jubilee. She tackled the other girl, and they fell into the stands, grappling with each other. Vanellope, meanwhile, glitched down to the floor and then glitches her way through the circus performers. They got to their feet, dazed, and she shouted "Quick! To the karts! Go to Diet Cola Mountain!" They all began to fall back towards the exit.

Jake leapt to his feet, and was about to run for his kart and start it up when he remembered his stash. He looked around desperately, and caught Damon's eye as he was dragging he injured Cynethia outside. He waved his arms at his caravan. The other boy understood immediately, and Jake ran over to help him as they carried their unconscious friend towards Jake's caravan. Along the way, they told Lucy and Kevin to take Cynth's bike, and Cherry ran over.

"Cherry! Go with them!" Shouted Jake as he batted away another fan. "No!" Shouted the girl back, as she grabbed Cynth's legs. "If I leave Cynth with you, you'll have driven a mile before you realise you dropped her!" She said, elbowing another fan. Cynth muttered something undeterminable, but it sound almost...agreeing? At least she was alive. In spite of himself, Jake grinned. "Fine. Damon!" He yelled, "Begin operation 'if everything goes wrong'!" Damon gaped at him. "But-but..." Jake glared at him. "Fine."

Jake let go of Cynth and ran for his caravan. Luckily, none of the fans followed him - unluckily, they all followed his friends. But he didn't have the time to worry about that - he knew Damon would get them out okay. He ran inside, and wrenched open a hidden cabinet. There was his stash.

Guns. Lots and lots of guns. And knives, made out of the sharpest candy cane, and bullets of the best cocoa beans, and cherry bombs and skittle grenades. He grabbed a sports bag, and loaded as many of them as he could into it. A screeching noise came from outside, and he flung the door open to find Damon at the wheel of his beloved truck, Cherry in the back, holding on tightly to a still unconscious Cynethia. He jumped in, and shoved the bag onto Damon's lap, after taking the driver's seat. They were about to drive off when they heard a voice coming from the top.

"That's Citrusella." Said Cherry nervously. Jake nodded. "Let's go."

They drove round to the front of the top, and what they saw inside amazed them.

Citrusella had managed to tie up Jubilee against Twistella's train with the rope that came out of the top, and the evil girl was grumbling at her as Citri wrestled the virus itself. Somehow, she had forced it into a humanoid form, and was repeatedly bashing her head into the ground.

"Take-that-you-stupid-virus!" She said, tugging on one of Twistella's bells with every word. One of them came off, but as soon as it had it dissolved into red code and reappeared on her hat. Jake frowned. It looked like Citri was winning, but she had several cuts covering her arms and face, whereas Twistella had nothing. However, before he could help Citrusella, Twistella caught sight of him.

They locked eyes, and he was suddenly reminded of all the great times he'd had with Twist. Before him, he saw not the virus that was killing the game, but the little sister he'd protected and cared for ever since he could remember. She called out to him.

"Jake, oh Jake, please help me,

it's just little Twist, as you can see!"

He wavered. Then, he saw the triumphant smile on her face. He shook himself out of his trance. "Not today, Twist."

Then, she uttered one word, the first word she'd ever said without rhyme.

"Fine."

It had immediate effect. It was simultaneously so high it made them want to claw at their ears but at the same time so low it felt like it struck them to the core. It had the same gargled, choking tone as the horrific laughter from earlier, and managed to combine both the silvery childlikeness of her previous voice and the hiss of evil. They were incapacitated for a second, covering their ears as the sound waves washed over them.

Citrusella stumbled backwards, bumping into Jubilee. Suddeny, the other girl was out of her bounds, and she took one second to push Citrusella to the ground before running to help her mistress. "Citri!" Cherry yelled, waving towards the girl. The blueberry teen looked over and ran towards them. She jumped into the back, then shouted "Go! Diet cola mountain! Quick!"

Jake needed no more encouragement. He floored the pedal and they were off, onto the main road.

"Uh, Jake?" Said Cherry, after about thirty seconds. "Yeah?" He asked, eyes on the road. "You might want to look in you mirror." She warned. Jake glanced into the rear view mirror and yelped. An army of candy fans, far too fast then they should be, was running towards them, Jubilee at the head. The girl had a large gash across her cheek, and was screaming her promise of revenge on Citrusella, who laughed and stuck her middle finger up at her.

"No... I need more speed..." Said the teen behind the wheel, tugging the gearstick. Turning back to the road, he was interrupted by Damon's arm in front of him, pointing at a side road that led into the forest. "Go that way! And be ready to jump!" He warned, before winding down the other window and sticking his hand out. Jake obeyed without question, wrenching the wheel sideways, the girls in the back only just hanging on, and watched Damon out of the corner of his eye.

The other boy had taken his glove off, for once, and he leant out of the window, running his hand along the trees. As Jake watched in amazement, they flickered and glitched, going behind them on top of one another, so the road they came down was blocked.

"What the-" he exclaimed, but Damon interrupted him. "JUMP!"

Jake yelled, along with the other three conscious teens in the truck, as they launched themselves off the edge of cereal box canyon. They soared through the air, spinning in wild circles, until they crashed into the other side, luckily without breaking anything. They drove straight off, kicking up clouds of dust behind them.

"That was crazy!" Yelled Citrusella, leaning through the back window into the front part. Then, suddenly, she kissed them both on the cheek. "I love it!"

Both boys froze, stunned expressions on their faces, hands on their cheeks, then glanced at each other, smiling wryly. They kept smiling until they arrived at their destination.

"Ok, now go in between the sugar free lollipops." Said Citri from the back. Jake simply nodded. They drove through, and arrived inside the mountain. "Wow..." Said the performers, looking up at the towering stacks of mentos and the boiling lake of diet cola. They pulled to a stop, and the other racers and performers ran up.

"Oh thank Mod you guys are here!" Said Minty, pulling her best friend into a hug. The blueberry girl embraced her just as tightly, as Jake turned to Damon and said "Oh yeah, let's talk about mod, Damon. Let's talk about your magic powers."

Everyone turned to Damon. He sighed, and sat on a boulder. Not looking up, he said "I have electricity running under my skin. When I make skin to skin contact with people or things, I could alter their code. I... I've already hurt people accidentally by using it. So I only use it when I really, really have to." He finished, finally glancing up. His eyes met Vanellope's, which were filled with sympathy. He gave a sad smile, and said: "But, we have more important things to talk about."

They all nodded. Citrusella spoke up. "First issue- we have to rescue Jubes. Now." She looked so fierce and commanding, she scared the others. "Um, Citri... We don't actually know where she is." Said Minty, trying to reason with her friend.

"I know where she is." Came a quiet voice from the back of the cave. Everyone turned to behold a dejected looking Crimson sitting on the edge of a boulder.

Citrusella jumped at the girl. "Where? Where is she?" She screamed at the girl, grabbing her by the shoulders, her nails digging into Crimson's skin.

"Citrusella!" Cried Minty, pulling the blueberry girl off the scared performer. "Calm down." She said in a firm tone.

"NO!" Shouted Citrusella, pulling herself away from her friend. "I will not calm down until my baby sister is here, with me, by my side. How would you feel if your little sisters were kidnapped, Minty? Well?" The green girl looked at her shoes.

"And you Nougetsia? Kevin? So no, I will not calm down! I will not sit in this cave and hope everything turns out okay! I am getting my sister back, now!" She glared at the crowd of racers and performers. Then, she turned to Crimson. "Tell me where she is. Now."

"She's back at the circus, Iocked in Jubilee's caravan." Said Crimson, still crumpled. "Wait... How do you know that? Are you working for them?" Asked Jake, eyeing her suspiciously.

Then, Crimson cracked.

"No! I'm not working with them! I'm the only one actually making a stand against them, for all your talk of resistance!" She snapped, glaring at Jake. "But no one believed me, did you? You all thought I was the bad guy, I was ruining everything! I bet you thought I was the one who cut Cynth's brakes as well, didn't you?" She shouted, hot angry tears flooding her eyes.

"Crim ... We... Wait - who did cut Cynth's brakes then?" Asked Lucy, perching next to the girl and wrapping her arms around her hesitantly. "Ginger!" Sobbed Cynth, clutching her friend.

Mouths dropped open, eyes widened, as they understood. Ginger... their friend... she hadn't left with them. She had barely been there all morning. They realised now - she must have been watching Jubileena, making sure no one got in.

"Why- why wouldn't you tell us this?" Asked Cherry, her hand covering her mouth.

"Can you honestly say that you would have believed me?" Said Crimson, raising her eyebrows at her fellow performers. They looked at their feet. "I tried to save her myself - that's where I was going before I bumped into you, Lucy." She said.

"Well, let's not throw blame around. Let's sort out what we're going to do next." Said Vanellope, placing a reassuring hand on Crimson's shoulder. "Yeah." Agreed most of the teens.

"How 'bout first," said Kevin, taking the attention of the circle. "We tell each other any other secrets we may have."

Most of the racers all kept their lips sealed - they had no secrets that weren't shared throughout their friends. Citri, however, raised her hand. "I've been taking self defence lessons with the guys over at street fighter." She smiled. Damon snorted. "They're doing a good job of teaching you."

Cherry shrugged. "Apart from being a mermaid? Can't say I do."

Jake grinned. "I have a stash of guns, ammo, bombs, grenades, and knives kept in a secret cabinet in my room - and I've bought some with me!" This seemed to cheer people up.

Damon grinned lopsidedly. "None that I haven't just told you."

Both Kevin and Lucy shook their heads. Ron grinned, then winced as he raised his arms. "I'm not a secretive person."

Crimson raised her head, wiping the salty tears of her cheek. "I glitch," she said, ignoring the gasps, "but pink. I don't know why - maybe it's something to do with Jubilee and Twistella 'borrowing' me? What does that even mean?" But no one could answer.

"Anyway," said Ron, breaking the silence. "We've got a virus to defeat, a friend to save, and a few bumps and bruises to fix. So I say we get to work!"

Within a few minutes, they had managed to elect everyone's roles and formulate a plan. They were going to attack in small groups - hopefully seeing as the virus and Jubilee couldn't be everywhere at once, there plan would work better.

On group was going to find and rescue Jubileena. This group consisted of Citrusella (of course), Damon, Torvald, Taffyta, and Rancis. The next group was going to attack the main force of the army with Jake's enormous supply of weapons; Jake, Minty, Snowanna, Lucy and Crimson. And a final group was going to sneak into the castle and then to the code room, where they'd hopefully destroy the virus from the inside. This group consisted of Swizzle, Gloyd, Kevin, and Ron, who could not be forced to stay no matter how bad his arm was. The rest were staying either because they were wounded, or to care for the wounded.

Vanellope turned to face everyone. "Well, we don't have much time, so..." She grinned.

"Let's save our game!"

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **Don't have much time to write stuff here, so please tell me if you liked it or not and all that stuff.**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!**


	10. Chapter 9

Sugar Rush Circus chapter 9

 **YES! New chapter! Finally!**

 **I am really sorry it took me so long to upload – circumstances have made it hard for me to write about this one a lot. But now, only three more chapters left to write! Woohoo!**

 **To TwizzleCreampuff: I didn't like it … I LOVED it! It was quite possibly the best thing that's ever happened to me to do with this account. It was amazing! I can't wait to see the next bit!  
**

 **To everyone: Go look at the animation TwizzleCreampuff has made! Search Alice and Amy on Deviantart, then when you're on their profile, go to the one that's called Fan Fiction Animation WIP ~ Amy. You won't be disappointed!**

 **Anyway, I'll stop wittering on…**

The Jubileena rescuing team were the first to leave, Citrusella getting increasingly distraught. They had formulated a plan – get to the circus whilst the attack team distracted Jubilee and the virus, letting Citri deal with anything that might stand in their way, and the subdue Ginger and Miito.

At least, they presumed Miito.

Where was Miito?

Miito was in a very uncomfortable position. Sure, there was enough room in his cage for him to stand up, but no room for him to pace around and vent his anger.

He was angry at two things. One, Jubilee and Twistella. They had grabbed him the night that Ginger had been to talk to Jubilee, shoved him in this cage, and then left him in Twistella's caravan for the last … two days? He couldn't even remember.

Two, he was angry at Ginger, and for two reasons. Firstly, he was worried about her. She was alone, with no one to be her eyes, and from what Miito had glimpsed from the plans on the desk before a cover was placed over his cage, in deep business with the evil duo. Secondly, he was angry because she hadn't found him. As far as Miito could see, she hadn't even been looking.

Contrary to what Miito believed, Ginger did know he was being held captive. After she asked why, outraged, Jubilee had tapped her nose and said "Well, we can't exactly trust you, can we? He's our little safety deposit." She was deathly worried about him, but she knew as long as she didn't do anything wrong he wouldn't get hurt.

So even when she had seen the storm gather above the top, she had stayed in place. Even when she'd heard her friends' terrified screams, though it pained her, she stayed in place. And even when she saw them all, the people who had practically been her brothers and sisters, fleeing from Jubilee she had stayed in place.

Because though they had been her best friends and practically her family, Miito was her family.

Meanwhile, in the ruin of the beautiful big top, Twistella had returned to human form, floating in the air as she paced back and forth. When she spoke, it was not in her childlike rhyming voice, but that horribly twisted voice that they had heard earlier. Jubilee was wincing at every word, but the virus didn't seem to notice as she said "We know the racers are going to try and make a comeback. There's no doubt about it."

Jubilee looked up at her. "Mistress, once again I ask, why can we not simply kill them? Unplug them?"

Twistella growled. "I told you already, fool. There codes are linked in to closely to the game for them to simply die when we unplug them. More likely, they would all turn into glitches, which is the last thing we want. And you know how bad things would be for everything if we unplugged the performers. No, having their own fans attack them, that will work."

"But mistress, won't they simply regenerate?" Asked Jubilee, confused.

Twistella let a distorted, manic grin mar her features. "No… because even now as we speak, I am present in the code room. The second one of them dies, I'll lock them in the same place I found you. Then, we'll see if it makes them or breaks them."

"And if it … makes them, mistress?"

"Well, by then they'll be ready. But I sense that they will attack us, as I said earlier. So, I want you to guard the girl."

"The younger me? She is well defended. Why?" Asked Jubilee. "Because, she plays a more important role than you think. She is not simply your insurance – she's our bait. After all, that crazy sister of yours would do anything for her."

"Her." Muttered Jubilee darkly. "But not me."

"Do you wonder why I chose you Jubilee, over the other forgotten bits of code floating in the abyss? Because of your sister. If she hadn't been such an imposing person, which such power over the others, I would have picked anyone else. Now, heed my order, and make sure you are there… to capture our prize."

Back at the caravans, five racers sneaked past the patrolling fans. They reached the dark scarlet caravan with the black hearts painted all down the sides, and tried to peek into the windows, which proved fruitless. Taffyta sneaked round, being the quietest of them all, and had a quick look at the door. Ginger was standing directly in front of it, up the little steps, waiting with a long stick that was reminiscent of the one Twistella was throwing into the air so gleefully when they met her.

She slipped back round to the back. "It's hopeless to try and get Jubi out without taking Ginger by force. She's standing right in front of the door, and all the other windows are barred." She whispered to the team, as they knelt hidden in some bushes at the start of a small thicket.

"Well, what are we waiting for? She's already betrayed us!" Citrusella replied in a hushed voice. Suddenly, a voice sailed round from the other side of the caravan.

"Ah, blind girl. I trust you haven't had any unexpected mouthwashes yet?" Came the sneering voice of Jubilee. The team gasped. This wasn't part of the plan…

Then, Rancis had a stroke of genius.

He whispered in Damon's ear, and the dum dum boy nodded, making his way to the caravan. He took off his gloves, and pressed his hands against the side gently. The walls began to glitch, but in a controlled fashion, so the two on the other side wouldn't notice.

"None yet, Darkheart. Now, tell me how Miito is."

This statement slipped the attention of the team as they continued to watch, fascinated, as Damon managed to make a small hole in the side of the wall.

"Oh, he'll be fine – as long as he stops growling. It's starting to get on my nerves a little, and you know how I get when something gets on my nerves."

Damon crawled inside the hole, leaving the racers outside in suspense. Several times Citrusella began to run forwards, only to be held back by Torvald.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

"Hey… I hear something."

"What?"

"It sounds like… glitching? And… Jubileena? And… Damon?"

The team heard Jubilee exclaim in alarm as she ran round the side of the caravan and spotted the racers. Rancis only just and time to scream "DA-" before she froze them. She snarled at them angrily, stalked over, and kicked Citrusella in the stomach. "That'll make you pay, you little chip." She said, then she clicked her fingers. Within seconds, the donut police came running, their eyes as dead as the fans, as they hoisted the team away.

Meanwhile, in the soundproof walls of Jubilee's carriage, Damon was just getting the tight blindfold off Jubileena when the door suddenly opened, flooding the caravan with light. Ginger stood at the entrance, a wild look on her face.

"Quick! Go!" She said, motioning them towards the door. Jubileena started to run towards the noise when Damon grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.

"You've been working against us all along!" He spat. "Why should we trust you?"

"No, please, you don't understand! You have to go! You have to go save Miito! Leave me if you must, but help him!"

"Miito?" Damon asked, his glare melting slightly. Despite the bear's grouchy attitude, they'd got on well a lot of the time. "Why, what's wrong with him?"

"As soon as I've done with you, he'll be dead." Came a horribly mangled, raspy voice. The three people in the caravan immediately felt like they wanted to claw their ears out – the powerful waves of sound sent Damon and Jubileena to the floor.

Twistella herself had come to deal with them. She turned to Ginger first, and with a sneer of disgust, clicked her fingers. The girl began to rise into the air, twitching uncontrollably, crying out in pain. "You've killed him now. And you didn't even manage to save your friends. You worthless, back-stabbing little piece of-"

"STOP!" Yelled Damon, running forwards against the sound waves, though it felt like knives digging into his ears, and grabbing Ginger's ankle. With a grimace, he concentrated and she disappeared, reappearing behind him. Even if she had betrayed them, she had also tried to save them. And the virus was the real enemy.

Twistella turned to him. Suddenly, her face softened into the face of the little sister he had loved, and her voice regained it's sweet, childlike composure.

"But Damon, do you not understand?

We already have the upper hand.

Your friends will die within the day,

There's nothing you can do or say,

And would you not prefer to live?

Your talents would be useful ones to give.

We could promise you anything,

Anything and everything.

After all, wouldn't you like to gain

Vanellope's heart as yours to claim?"

Damon felt himself wavering. Twist seemed so trustworthy - and she was promising him the thing he wanted most... At what price?

As his eyes wavered from the girl in front of him, she grinned evilly. Then, whilst he was still lost in a trance, she clicked his fingers. The sudden sound brought him back to reality, but too late as he felt his body glitch and warp.

He woke up in a cold cell, a band of metal around his stomach. On the front it was written in thick, square letters: "Mod proof chains". He cursed, noting the short chain that banded him to the floor.

"Mmm! Mmm!" He heard from the other side of the cell. He looked up in alarm, finding himself staring into the terrified eyes of Jubileena. She had a gag on this time, and her chains didn't go around her stomach like his, but around her wrists, the one that connected her to the wall was so low down that she had to kneel.

"Jubi!" He shouted, beginning to struggle towards her, but unable to reach her.

She conveyed a silent question with her eyes: _Where are we?_

"I don't know... But we'll be alright." He comforted her, casting a fearful glance back to the door.

"We'll be alright."

Meanwhile, the rest of the rescue team hadn't been having the best time. They'd been gagged and chained, then dragged into the fun dungeon. Then, Citrusella had been split up from the other and thrown into this cold, dark cell she now found herself in. She screamed and battered on the door, but no one answered. Eventually she just gave up, and went to sit in the centre of the room, the chains on her small wrists weighing her down.

She sniffed quietly. She had failed her sister when Jubes most needed her.

After a while – half an hour? An hour? – the doorknob turned. The blueberry girl looked up expectantly, but cowered away when Jubilee Darkheart herself walked through the door.

"Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here." She said, in a way not dissimilar to how Citri and Jubi often greeted one another.

"What do you want with me?" Spat Citrusella.

"Let me tell you a story, Ella." Said Jubilee, ignoring the question as she grabbed a chair that Citrusella hadn't noticed before. The blueberry girl shuddered at the nickname. Only her sister called her that.

"Once upon a time, there were two girls. They were the nicest, kindest, most loving sisters in all of the land. They were also part of a super hero team, commonly known as Sugar Rush. Can you guess who these girls are?" Asked Jubilee mockingly. Citrusella shook her head, but in reality, she could.

Jubilee shrugged and continued. "Anyway, one day one of these girls - the younger, more naïve one - was on a mission with some of their other friends. She made a mess of the mission, quite frankly, endangering herself and others. However, she died nothing to merit her punishment: being excluded from the team. Heartbroken, she went to the one person she had always been told she couldn't trust, as she knew the people she should trust were the ones she shouldn't. He helped her, and then, when she was ready, gave her a new name and made her part of his elite force. Do you know what the new name was, Ella?" She spat at the other girl. Still, Citrusella remained silent.

"The girl got into a sticky situation," carried on Jubilee, ignoring the lack of speech. "And she ended up face to face with her sister. And do you know what her sister did?" She asked. Citrusella didn't answer.

"I said, do you know what her sister did?!" Asked Jubilee again, her eyes narrowing, her face growing steadily darker. Citrusella still refused to talk. Jubilee growled savagely, then grabbed the cherry hair bobble of her stumped pigtail, letting the hair fall in short layers, and threw it at Citrusella. The girl instinctively caught it, but Jubilee shouted at her before she could look at it.

"Answer me! DO YOU KNOW WHAT HER SISTER DID?!"

"NO!" Shouted Citrusella.

Jubilee stalked over to her angrily. "THAT LITTLE - BLUEBERRY - TART - ABANDONED - HER!" She screamed, raining blow upon blow onto Citrusella. The other girl yelled and cried out in pain as she raised her arms to cover her face, the cherry bobble still clutched in her hand.

After a minute or so of assault, Jubilee stepped back, flexing her wrists. "You know I never thought it would feel so good to hit you, Ella." She said, staring at the other girl, who was curled into a ball, her lip bust and bleeding, her clothes ripped, her hair messy and tangled, her stomach bruising.

"Don't ... Ever ... Call me that, you filthy piece of code!" She managed to croak, coughing.

Jubilee laughed. "You never used to mind, Ella. And would you call your own sister a filthy piece of code?"

Citrusella glared at the girl. "You are no sister of mine." She spat.

Jubilee laughed. "Then explain why I call you Ella. Explain how I know you stuck your finger in a plug socket age four. Explain why I look so much like my past self."

"Lots of people call me Ella! You could have forced information out of Jubes! Pure coincidence!" Shouted Citrusella back at her, but even she couldn't deny the signs for much longer.

Jubilee smirked. "Explain the proof in your hand."

Citrusella looked down at the tiny cherry bobble curled in her palm. She carefully pulled out the label, which was tucked inside one of the cherries. To her horror, she saw, scribbled on it in the neat handwriting of her sister:

 _Jubileena_

The only difference was the last two letters, which had been crossed out at a later date, with a thick black marker.

"You...you could have taken it from Jubes...you could have written on it!" She said desperately.

Grinning sinisterly and triumphantly, Jubilee withdrew two other hair bobbles from her pockets and through them at Citrusella's feet. They were unmistakable little red cherries, with _Jubileena_ written in perfectly neat handwriting.

"Forgery..." Protested Citrusella half-heartedly, the crushing realisation setting in. Jubilee growled.

"Don't you realise? Can't you sense the connection between us? Earlier, when you bumped into me as I was tied to the train, I was released because of our connection! The game can't comprehend our similarities! It knows you were meant to be like Jubileena, but when I come along with a different name and personality, the game is desperate to combine us, to make us one person! If it had been my past self there, I would have been out of them in a flash! Didn't you notice your chains disappearing when I hit you?"

Citrusella looked down at her wrists - it was true. Her cuffs had disappeared. Suddenly, her brain started whirring. She got to her feet.

"Jubilee - you are not my sister." She said, fire growing in her eyes, clutching the two cherry bobbles that belonged to Jubileena in her hand. "My sister is sweet, kind, caring, loving, compassionate, and most certainly not EVIL!" She screamed, jumping at the other girl, taking her by surprise. She got Jubilee into a head lock, the leant down next to her ear.

"Mark my words, cherry," she said, slipping the keys off Jubilee's belt as the girl continued to struggle. "I will personally make sure you never exist." She hissed, throwing her sister's evil future across the room, before running out and slamming the door behind her.

"I'll kill you, Citrusella!" She heard Jubilee scream as the door shook. "Not if I kill you first!" Sang the other girl merrily, as she skipped away.

She walked down a long corridor, glancing into all the barred windows of the doors. She didn't see anything for several cells, until she reached one at a fork in the path.

She looked inside and gasped.

Whilst Citrusella had been having her run in with her sister's future, Damon and Jubileena had been having their own incident. A few minutes after they woke up, Twistella had entered their cell.

"Enjoying your new accommodations, I see,

Oh don't thank me, thank Jubilee!"

When they both looked at her in confusion and fear, she rolled her eyes.

"Well we can all live in the past sometimes,

And that statement needs no further rhyme!"

"Live in the past… what are you talking about?" Asked Damon, thoroughly confused. Twistella smiled.

"Well, if you wanted to pull up a tree,

You must first get to its roots, you see!

But if a tree doesn't want to be cut,

It will hide its roots, to prevent a heist!"

"Are you calling Jubilee a tree? And her roots are … um …" Damon tried to piece together the puzzle Twistella was laying out, but she held up a hand.

"Do not fret over it now,

But rather, take a bow!

For Damon, you have been elected,

To join our team, unobjected!"

Damon sneered at her. "Why would I want to join you? I made the mistake in hesitation earlier and you threw us in here."

Twistella cocked her head.

"Well, if you were to disagree,

You may have tried to attack me!

But here you can agree or refuse –

After all, you've got nothing to lose!

Not to mention, she who holds your heart,

Could be yours, to never be apart.

So what do you say Damon, what do you think?

Will you become our missing link?"

Once again, Damon hesitated. He just couldn't help himself – Twistella made it sound so easy, so harmless, just as if it was a game. And she was right – what did he have to lose now?

Suddenly, he locked eyes with Jubileena. She was struggling against her chains, desperately trying to form words despite her gag, shaking her head at him violently, tears of fear in her warm brown eyes.

She who holds your heart.

Damon could hear his heartbeat. It beat strongly and courageously, continuously pumping the warm scarlet blood around his body, not hesitating even for a second. It couldn't afford to hesitate – and neither could Damon.

He stood up as well as he could, the heavy chains around his waist dragging him down. He could imagine his heartbeat echoing through the walls, filling the room with a strange yet familiar and comforting warmth. A soft red light fell over his eyes.

Red.

She stared at him, trying as best as she could to at one conceal yet also show him her fear. A portrait of red, from the tip of her hair to the stem of her hat. Beautiful red warmth.

He knew what he wanted. And he knew who he wanted.

And most importantly, he knew who held his heart.

He sneered at Twistella, then opened his mouth.

"No."

The word echoed around him, bouncing through the air. The virus's face twisted into a scowl, and she clenched her fists as she began to float.

But then…

BAM!

The heavy chocolate door swung open, hitting Twistella square in the face, making the girl fall backwards and slump against the wall. The light pooled in, and a figure walked through the door.

"Ha! That'll teach you, virus!" Crowed Citrusella victoriously as she ran into the room. Then, she went directly to her sister, hugging her and comforting her as she took off the gag and undid her chains. Jubileena heaved a great sob of relief as she fell into her sister's opening arms. After the two girls had hugged each other for a while, and shed a few tears, Citrusella brought her enormous ring of keys (thankfully labelled) over to Damon, and proceeded to unlock his chains. He rubbed his sore torso and straightened, then, surprising the girl, grabbed Citrusella and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

After this happy reunion, the three teens made their way down the corridor, not daring to split up again, until they found the cell with their friends. Unlike them, the other three had not been chained, but they were obviously the subject of some interrogation. Taffyta was clutching her side as she knelt on the floor, scarlet stains blossoming underneath her hands, and Torvald had cuts down her arms and a bruise on her face, but the one in the worst state was Rancis.

He was out stone cold, and his face was so beat up it barely looked like him. The other two were kneeling by his side, Taffyta with tears running down her face. When Citrusella, Jubileena and Damon arrived, they looked up in shock and fear, until their face broke into grins of recognition. They ran towards them despite their bruises, hugging them and blubbering words into their shoulders.

"Wait, what happened to you guys?" Asked Citrusella. "Well, after we got separated from you, they chucked us in here…" Started Torvald, who was leaning on Jubileena.

"And then a hypnotised guard came in, and started questioning us about where we were hiding." Continued Taffyta, walking back over to Rancis. "We didn't answer." She said, sending a wry smile at Torvald, who grinned back. "So they got violent." She continued, her grin dropping. "Rancis tried to defend us, so he got the worst of it. They only left when he passed out, a few minutes ago."

Torvald frowned. "So, that's about it. Now, let's get out of here while we still can!"

Damon and Torvald grabbed Rancis's arms, and, slinging them over his own shoulders, carried him to the door. They made it out without any problems – or at least, none Citrusella couldn't handle.

When they got outside, they were faced with a problem.

"How are we going to get back?" Asked Jubileena. "No one's got a kart."

"Oh, I know, I'll call Vanellope!" Said Taffyta, pulling a pink phone out of nowhere, seemingly. "What?! How did you keep your phone? They searched us!" Shouted Torvald. Taffyta raised an eyebrow. "Well, they weren't exactly going to check my underwear…"

"Resourceful." Came a croak from the middle of the group.

"Rancis!" Cried the others happily as the Reese's boy raised his head. "We were so worried about you!" Sobbed Taffyta and Torvald as they both hugged him.

After a few more hugs, Taffyta managed to get through to Vanellope, who was relieved to hear from them, and sent Sakura and Adorabeezle to come pick them up. Fifteen minutes later, they were back on the karts, driving to safety. Twenty minutes later, they arrived.

"Sheesh! What happened to you guys?" Cried Cherry as they came through the secret entrance. "It's a long story – I'll explain when you're all here." Said Damon. Cherry frowned. "Well, we better get you guys to the beds – you all look pretty beat up-"

"RANCIS!" Came a cry from above as Vanellope dropped down from a ledge and ran over to the blonde boy, taking his face in her hands. "Oh my mod, what happened to you? We need to get you to the beds, now! All of you!" She said, taking his weight off the other two and leading him away as she beckoned for the others to follow her.

Most did, but Damon hung back. "So have the others left?" He asked Cherry. "Yeah… Gloyd's team left just before you called." She said, her voice cracking a little. Damon squeezed her shoulders quickly. "Hey. Gloyd's a clever guy. He'll know what to do."

Cherry cheered up a little at this, then turned to him. "So, what happened to you guys there?"

Damon looked ahead to the group, where the flash of red that saved his life was helping Torvald with an ice pack.

"I found out who holds my heart."

 **Aww, ain't that sweet.**

 **Thanks for reading, and putting up with my long, loooong gaps between uploads! And thanks again to TwizzleCreampuff for the animation!**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing out for the night! Goodnight!**


	11. Chapter 10

Circus chapter 10

 **Hi guys! I know I haven't updated in a while, but I had a very busy weekend, then a similar Monday and Tuesday. And now, some soppy, sentimental stuff.**

 **I must admit, whit I first started this story, I had no idea how far it would take me. It was just a small idea that blossomed in my head when I was first presented to jubileena's OC, who we all know and love – Cherry Creme. But the love you all seem to have for this story has really made it come into its own. I am enormously thankful for all the support you have shown this story, and the eagerness you seem to have for it. No, no, don't worry, this is not the final chapter. If it was, that would be one heck of a cliff-hanger. But I really just wanted to thank you guys for the reviews, favourites, follows, applications, and everything else. I mean, this story has even broke through the comfort zone of , to find its way to Deviantart (To Twist Creampuff: It was amazing! I loved it all, and I loved the cover art as well. Thank you so much!) and know, as recently suggested by HallyMint, it is going to go to inkett, to be submitted into a fanfiction story contest. However, it must be finished first, so I am happy to announce that until I have finished it, all my attention is going to be devoted entirely to this story. Also, when I have put it up, it would mean a great deal to me if you could support it there as well.**

 **I'm sorry for keeping you, please, enjoy!**

Jubilee awoke to a stinging slap to the face. As her vision cleared, she saw Twistella standing above her, an expression of utter anger and disappointment seething on her face.

"Fool!" She bellowed. Jubilee winced as the sharp sound waves hit her. Her mistress's voice was not something you wanted to wake up to first thing in the morning…

"You let her outwit you! You ignorant girl! I told you she was the linchpin of our plan! And you let her leave! Along with the rest of those horrid brats, including your past!"

Jubilee panicked. "No … she mustn't … she can't …"

"It's too late for that, isn't it?" Sneered Twistella. "We have to activate the backup plan. Get on your feet!"

* * *

A few minutes after the Jubileena rescue team had left, the main attack team were faced with a problem – where were Twistella's troops?

"Huh. Guess we should have thought about this." Said Minty, scratching her head.

"It's okay!" Came a cry from the other side of the cavern.

Adorabeezle ran round, flourishing a small metal object. "Meet the Adoradrone 2000!"

"Adoradrone?" Snorted Lucy. "Nice."

"Thank you!" Smiled Adorabeezle, as she placed it on the floor and started flicking switches and pressing buttons as she spoke. "So basically, I can fly it over a short distance, and find where the troops are. Then, you guys can go out and do your attacking bit." The others all nodded - it seemed like a good plan.

Adorabeezle got the drone up and running, then they sent it to the skies, its small propellers whirring defiantly against the dark, thundering sky.

"Hm … seems like most of the troops are gathered at the castle. I think she' made it her base." Said the drone girl a few minutes later as her and the others gathered around the computer screen.

"That's not good news…" Said Vanellope nervously, assessing the numbers. "I mean, she has access to the code there, and she can also defend it. So how are we going to get Swizz, Ron, Kev and Gloyd there?"

"Disguise?" Offered Cherry.

"Straight on attack?" Suggested Jake.

"Distraction?" Said Minty, a gleam in her eyes.

"Of what kind?" Asked Sticky, hesitant - she knew her sister's ways.

"Well, how about we attack the circus? They'll think we're trying to get to their plans, so naturally, they send a load of their troops over to catch us. That's when, during all the chaos, the code team sneak in, and fix the code. Finally, we emerge victorious, as the virus dies, Jubilee's troops turn against her, and we capture her." Minty finished, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wow … that's actually really well thought out, Mintz." Commented Swizzle.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get moving!" Said Lucy, and they ran over to their little cache of weapons.

* * *

Twistella and Jubilee had been putting the backup plan into action, inside a very special room. It glowed blue, shining with all the names of the fans, racers, karts, locations, and everything in the game. The code room radiated pixelated life, the delicate strands of wire like tendons weaving between the flesh of the game.

Jubilee hung back as she watched her mistress turn back into a whirlpool of code, then glanced inside as that virus, with those two harsh orange lights and that demonic grin, snuck its way into the code, and began to leech off the blue blood of the game, the colours distorting, converting themselves until they were barely distinguishable.

Then, suddenly, something clicked, deep inside. There was a glitch, which spread over all the code boxes. They flashed red twice, before turning off.

"What - what have you done?" Asked Jubilee, her face aghast at the vault of emptiness.

"Only what was necessary."

* * *

As the Jubileena rescue team were being carted off to the fundungeon, the attack team were on the move. They had decided on using Jake's pickup truck, and with Jake and Crimson sitting up front, loaded the back full of guns, ammo, and Snowanna, Lucy and Minty. The mood was sombre - they were all aware of the fact that their plan may cause destruction in their game. But it was necessary.

"So..." Said Jake, mostly to break the silence. "I guess I owe you an apology."

Crimson turned to him, frowning. "What for?" Jake coughed awkwardly. "Well, you know…" He muttered, a tide of heat rising in his cheeks. Crimson continued to frown, confused. "For thinking you were working with Jubilee." He mumbled.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I could tell you were misguided by how much faith you put in Twistella." She said plainly, noting the way he sighed unhappily. "I mean, did you never think it was weird that she only ever spoke in rhyme? Or that she never wore normal clothes?"

"I don't know…" Said Jake, his hazel eyes fixed on the road in front of him.

"I guess she really pulled a fast one on us, didn't she?"

* * *

Twistella turned herself back to human form with a sigh. "So uncomfortable – but I must get my usage out of it."

Jubilee was sure that she would have permanent ear damage after talking to her mistress so long, but she was more concerned about the code room. "What exactly, if I may ask, did you do in there, mistress?"

Twistella laughed – not the high, silvery, childlike laugh that had bewitched them all, but the gargled chokes of the virus she was truly. "It is far too complex for your mind to understand, but I simply sorted a few things out, so to speak. We're not going to have any trouble with regenerating racers anymore." She said darkly, her laughs echoing through the shadows the new gloom cast throughout the room.

Suddenly, she glitched. A haggard scream escaped her lips. "No!" She turned to her confused employee. "Send all the troops to the circus. They're trying to find the secret!" She hissed. Jubilee's eyes widened, and she ran to the throne room. Summoning the strength the virus had given her, she entered her mind.

 _The caravans._

They were the only words she spoke, but the guards, staff and fans responded immediately. Within the minute, a large army was marching to the circus.

Jubilee grinned.

They would finally get what was coming to them.

* * *

The team had arrived at the circus, having just received a message from Adorabeezle confirming the safety of Jubileena and her rescue team. Sighing with relief, they had made their way to the caravans, noting the obvious signs of a struggle.

It was eerily quiet – there were no guards patrolling, no evil presence, no demonic laughter. There was nothing but them and their noises, footsteps echoing loudly, breaths drawn in short gasps.

"What do we do?" Whispered Lucy, feeling compelled to talk quietly. "Let's break into their caravans. If it doesn't prove useful, at least it'll attract their attention." Answered Snowanna.

They had no problem entering Jubilee's caravan – the doors having already been blown off by Twistella's angered voice, although they had no way of knowing. In it, they found a series of plans leading up until this moment, where they had been hastily ripped off. Twistella's caravan, however, was impossible to open. It must have been locked, barred and chained from the inside, no matter how sweet and unimposing it looked on the outside.

"Well… How do we get in now? I bet you she'll have secret weapons and things like that in there." Speculated Minty. "True…" Said Crimson, kneeling down to study the lock, "but it's unopenable."

"That's why we don't simply, open." Came a voice from behind them. They turned to see Lucy with a handful of skittle grenades. "C'mon you guys, get out of the way and I'll blow it off its hinges." She said, a grin on her face that had the slightest manic edge to it.

Crimson and Jake exchanged nervous glances. "It's risky." Stated the girl. "But it's our best shot." Countered the boy.

Crimson sighed. "… Fine. But let's be quick about it – we never know when they're watching." She warned.

They stepped out of the way, behind an overturned caravan. "Ready?" Asked Lucy. As the others gave her the thumbs up, she pulled the pin, hefted the grenade into the air, and threw.

Time seemed to slow as it flew through the air, leaving a red trail behind it. As it touched the door, it exploded, sending little pieces of hot skittle shrapnel everywhere.

"We're in!" Cried Lucy happily, before being shushed by the others. "Oh relax, there's no one around!" She grumbled, albeit slightly less loud.

"Ok then… Let's see what she's got under such security." Muttered Snowanna as she followed Minty over the splintered ends of wood and sharpened metal.

"Whoa – what is this?" Breathed the green girl, staring around in wonder.

Twistella's caravan was not a caravan. It was more like a portal – the opening to a wormhole. There was an enormous purple, glowing mass, slowly spinning, bubbling then solidifying, evaporating then melting, almost like it couldn't decide which state it wanted to be in. It was contained in a glass sphere, which shone with the eerie colour, reflecting the light throughout the small space.

"I don't know…" Mumbled Crimson, stepping forwards as if in a trance. Behind her Lucy and Jake did the same.

"Whoa!" Exclaimed Snowanna, grabbing the cowboy boy and Crimson by their collars whilst Minty pulled on Lucy's arm. "Don't touch it!"

Jake shook his head. "Right…it just… it felt like … home?" Crimson and Lucy nodded, all three pairs of eyes wandering back to the glowing matter.

"Okay…" Said Minty, raising an eyebrow. "I think we should get you guys out of here. Then, we can call Vanellope and tell her what we saw."

They all nodded in agreement, the performers casting one last, longing glance at the purple mass, now a cloud of liquid, floating in the air. Then, they stepped outside.

"Oh, sugar snap."

* * *

Jubilee laughed from her position at the head of her vast army. "Well, well, well. Breaking and entering, I see, has been taken to a whole new level."

Crimson slipped close to Jake's side, then, barely moving her lips, breathed "The weapons."

He gave a microscopically small nod, not taking his eyes off Jubilee for a second as they girl regarded them all with contempt.

"Honestly, I was expecting that they'd send someone a little more … adept then you five. I mean, you hid everything from them," she glanced at Crimson disapprovingly before turning to Minty, "You're an anger prone loose cannon; you're a rainbow coated coward, right next to a hot-headed redneck," she sneered at Snowanna and Jake, before casting a glance at Lucy, "And I thought the president would know better than to send _you_ , of all people. After all, she spends her life trying to defend you two."

"Wh-what?" Asked Lucy, struggling to fit the pieces of Jubilee's malicious speech together.

"Oh, I guess you'll just have to worry about that later." Said Jubilee with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Well – if you can, that is. I mean, we can't exactly have you radioing back to base, or whatever, telling them…"

As Jubilee was talking, she had failed to notice Jake creeping closer and closer to his truck. Slowly, he moved his hand to the boxes, and withdrew a short knife, the candy cane gleaming. He inched back, and ever so slowly moved his hand to Crimson's. The girl's fingers clenched around the knife hilt and Jake let go, moving away.

Jubilee turned to face them once again, a devious sneer on her face. "And after al- ARGH!" She screamed as Crimson whipped out the knife, then launched it threw the air, straight into the other girl's gut.

"GET THEM!" She screamed, her eyes full of angry fire as she grabbed the knife, drawing it out as she retreated behind her troops. It fell to the ground with a clatter, the trumpet of battle being blown at last.

* * *

The army surged forwards, but the teens were ready. They grabbed the weapons, working together flawlessly, because there was a reason they had been sent together. They were a team. And they would stand with one another until the very end.

Jake climbed into his truck, and started it up. The engine spluttered to life, wheels squealing as he turned it and rammed it straight at the oncoming forces, watching them go flying with sick delight. Crimson had pulled out the longest sword in all of Jake's supplies, and was now using her favourite combat method on the armed guards – swordsmanship. "Ha!" She screamed, twirling the sword and disarming yet another. "You call this a fight?"

Minty, meanwhile, had gone for a more hands-on method – literally. She ran through the crowds, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, punching, kicking, biting, scratching, and throwing all the fans, ignoring the fundamental instincts in her that told her hurting the fans was wrong.

Snowanna was having a harder time with that, but she still managed to fire a few good shots with a coffee bean revolver, taking out some of the bigger CLAW team agents from the back of Jake's truck. And Lucy was using her fire skills to roast marshmallows, melt chocolate, and burn biscuits.

"Minty!" Shouted Jake from the truck as he leaned out of the window and shot another donut policeman. "Yeah?" Came a shout from the other side of the battleground that was once his home. He swerved the truck, nearly sending Snow flying, pulling up next to her.

"Get the skittles! We need to talk to Vanellope!"

"Oh yeah!" Minty grinned as she jumped on the back of the truck. She rummaged through the boxes whilst Snowanna watched her back, then came out with an armful of skittles. "Alright! I'll throw these in, you drive out that way, then we get Lucy to make smoke so they can't see!" She said, poking her head through the window.

Jake relayed the message to Lucy, who nodded, rubbing her hands furiously. Minty jumped up onto the roof of the truck, and screamed.

"Hey, you want some skittles? HAVE. SOME. SKITTLES!"

The little grenades flew into the army's centre as a cloud of smoke spread out over them. Lucy jumped on the back, and they pulled out of the blindness.

* * *

"Wait! Guys!" Coughed Crimson, fumbling her way around in the darkness. The fans were attacking each other now, no idea who was who in their blank state, and code splattered her from every sides, swords cutting at her hair, biting at her legs, nicking her arms. She spun around to face each attacker, but was getting overcome. Slowly, they seemed to realise that she was not one of them. She struggled, choking on the smoke as dozens of blades turned to her.

 _Well…I hope I'll regenerate._ She thought sadly, feinting left as her attacker swung. _Ron would be proud. I hope he makes it okay._

Suddenly, she was aware of a strange noise. Dirt being flattened, crushed. She glanced up in alarm, to see a pair of spotlights break through the curtain of darkness that was to be her burial shroud.

"WHOOOOO!" Came a male voice, as the truck pulled up beside her, the driver's face ecstatic behind the wheel. "Get in!" Cried Jake, grinning down at her. "You didn't think we'd leave you, did you?"

She sobbed happily, throwing herself into the truck, weeping with relief. "Jake, you are officially a life saver." She wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey, anything for my friends." Said Jake, stiffening at the sudden contact. She pulled back, and he said "The others are waiting for us just outside the smoke. If we can just-"

Then, another pair of lights floated into their vision. Two orange headlights, dancing in the wind, blinking like eyes. Then a grin appeared in the darkness, white teeth gleaming like a wolf's in the darkness.

"Alas Jake, you make a mistake,

Oh, this is the icing on the cake!"

 **Jake to the rescue! Or, not.**

 **Thanks for everything yet again!**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) singing out for the night! Goodnight!**


	12. Chapter 11

Circus chapter 11

 **Hi! Sorry for not updating Super Powers in ages – I swear the new chapter will come soon! In the meantime, hope you enjoy this!**

"Chip."

That was all Jake could say.

Maybe that would be his last word. Not exactly a great way to go out.

Suddenly, he felt his stomach jolt violently. Next to him, Crimson screamed as she glitched, disappearing. In her place sat the one person he needed, and the one person he couldn't have.

"Oh Jake, it must be hard for you,

To see me in this form, and here too!"

Twistella smiled sympathetically at the boy, who stayed frozen, afraid to even speak a word. She looked so sweet, so innocent, reminding him of someone … he wished he could remember who.

"After all, I've always had an effect,

But you, you become a complete wreck!"

"You're not actually her, are you?" Jake breathed. He couldn't remember who the girl was, but he knew that she was somewhere in his memory, and that she was very important.

"Alas, I am not, as this is not my true form,

But it was all that was needed to start the storm!"

"You're – you're a virus." Jake sad uncertainly, his doubt growing as he looked into those bright orange eyes. "Wait," he started, looking around in fear. "What did you do to Crimson?"

Twistella smirked.

"You're precious friend is alive,

But for how long, I cannot divine!"

Jake's eyes widened as he paled. "What did you do to her?!" He repeated, more forcefully as he forced himself to stare into those orange eyes.

"I simply gave her a little test,

To see if she could beat the rest!"

"Would you stop talking in all these riddles?! What have you done to my friend?!" Jake screamed, but the jester girl just sat and smiled, cool as ice.

* * *

Crimson opened her eyes to a dark, dark place. She gasped – or at least, she tried to. No sound came out, nothing at all. She tried to move her body, but found, to her horror, that she was no longer in control of it. She was drifting through the darkness, floating through the air.

Panic began to come over her. Her breathing got shallow ad quick, yet she still couldn't hear a sound. She struggled, failing even to move her eyes.

 _Calm, Crimson. Calm!_ She thought to herself, as she tried to focus on her surroundings. Finding that everything remained fuzzy and unfocused, no matter how much she strained, she felt an overwhelming sense of despair come over her.

Then, she felt a horrible sensation crawl up her legs slowly.

She felt her pixels splitting, starting to drift into the void. She felt herself being deleted slowly, forgotten.

She would have wept if she could. This was the end. She had no hope left. All the fighting, all the struggling, what was it for? They would all be deleted in the end. The feeling crushed her, choked her, throttled her.

Then, she remembered how she had got here.

 _The virus._

Her fear began to fade slowly, anger rushing in to replace it.

 _So, this is where Jubilee was trapped, eh? Well, she got through it with her anger, didn't she? I might as well do the same._

She embraced the surge of fire, letting it fill her from top to bottom. She drew in a long breath, never so glad to be alive. She felt the pixels of her legs begin to fly back towards her, drawn to her energy like a magnet. She felt a prickling sensation in her fingers as they slowly bent to her command. And all the while, she just focused on her harboured hatred.

Slowly, her arms started beating as she felt the waves of darkness billow away. She could get through this. She knew it.

Her eyes shined bright.

She knew she could.

For the first time in her life, she had full belief in her ability, backed up by every part of her conscious, every muscle in her body, every voice in her head.

Crimson Crunch was whole once again.

There was only one part of her missing.

With a final grin, she melted away, glowing pink pixels piercing the darkness.

* * *

Ron was sharpening his sword, waiting anxiously, when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his torso from behind.

"Hello Crumbs."

"Hello Ronnie." She said softly, resting her head on his shoulder. He turned to hold her properly, as she shook with sobs. He didn't need to ask – he knew how she felt. When she had pulled herself together again, she leant back, and touched his arm gingerly.

"How's the cut?"

Ron grimaced, glancing down at the tight scarlet bandage that dug into his arm. "It's alright," he saw her frown, and said hastily "I'll be fine, Crumbs. I will not back down from this mission because of some measly little cut."

She sighed exasperatedly. "I guess I can't get you to change your mind."

Ron flashed her a half smile, raising his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Nope."

She looked him in the eyes, and sniffed. "But Ron … what if it goes right and you don't remember me? Or worse, if you disappear?"

Ron embraced her again, holding her smaller form close to him. "Nothing can make me leave without my free will." He whispered into her hair. "And if I forget you," he continued, moving a hand to her cheek as he kissed her forehead. "Just remind me, sweetheart."

She chuckled. "I wouldn't just let you go without making a slight effort, after all."

Ron joined her laughter. "Well, I'm glad to hear I'm worth a 'slight effort'."

She sighed, a tired smile on her face, gazing into his eyes. "You already know you're worth my life's effort."

"Well, Crumbs," he said, grabbing her hands. "If I'm worth your life's effort, then you are worth my entire life. And more."

* * *

Kevin was lost in the land of dreams when he heard a croaky voice.

"You asleep there, ringmaster?"

His eyes snapped open, to find Cynethia grinning wryly at him. "Cynth!" He sighed, happily relieved. He had been sitting by her bed ever since the rescue team left, as per request of Damon, but also out of his own choice.

She laughed. "I don't remember much Kev, but I'm pretty sure when I fell off my bike, I didn't land in this place. So tell me – how did you fudge up?"

"Hey!" Said Kevin. "Why do you always think it's me?"

Cynethia snorted. "Because it always is you."

"True." Kevin admitted. "And yeah, it kind of was my fault. I let Jubilee have too much control, and she turned out to be evil."

Cynethia raised an eyebrow. "Never would have guessed that one." She said sarcastically.

Kevin pulled a face at her, then continued. "I also trusted Twistella, which didn't really work out. It turns out, she was the source of the entire problem!"

"Twist?" Cynethia gasped. "Yep." Kevin sighed. "She's actually some sort of virus. I don't know all the finer details, but we've formulated a plan to stop her."

Cynth buried her face in her hands. "Twist. A virus. Wow…" She breathed deeply, brushing her hair back as she looked towards the towering mentos. "So… What's this plan, then?"

"Well, we've sent one team to save Jubileena – she's been kidnapped by the way, but I don't know why – then another team is going to…"

* * *

Swizzle was very nervous, wringing his wrists as he tried to listen to everything Vanellope was telling him. She was talking about a special code, to be inputted into the main lifeblood of the code that would – hopefully – take care of their virus problem.

"Okay – what was the password to get into the code room?" She quizzed him.

"Up up down down left right left right B A start." He gabbled. She nodded. "Very good. Now the castle should be without guards," she started, getting up and motioning for him to follow her, "as Minty's team should have managed to make a distraction. But if they're not, we've given Ron a sword, Gloyd some pumpkin spice bombs, and Kevin will be carrying, um, his stick – his choice. So what would you like to use?" She asked, pulling to a stop in front of the small amount of weapons Jake had left.

"My brain." Swizzle replied, crossing his arms. Vanellope rolled her eyes. "Look Swizz, I know you don't like violence, but you've got to be able to defend yourself!"

"You can't make me take one Vanellope." He retorted, walking away. "Please, Swizz, be reasonable!" She pleaded to his retreating back.

"Mod damn idiot."

* * *

The fated moment had finally happened – Adorabeezle reported all of Twistella's troops running from the castle directly to the circus, leaving the building undefended. Gloyd was nearly at the exit, where the others were waiting, before he felt a tug on his sleeve that spun him round. "Ye-"

He shut up as he felt a warm pair of lips crash into his, a pair of hands running into his hair, a nose graze his own as he was pulled down to his girlfriend's height. She kissed him deeply and desperately, as if this was the last time. She pulled away slightly and whispered "If you don't come back to me, Gloyd Orangeboar, I will personally make sure you suffer." He shot her a crooked grin.

"Yes ma'am."

Running off to the others, he grinned.

He'd be back.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Asked Miito as the wind blew through his fur. Ginger was pelting through the forest, stopping only when the little bear yelled "turn!" or "duck!"

"We have to help them!" Cried Ginger as she ran into a tree branch.

"You really think they'll want our help now? And what about your secret?"

"I don't care anymore! So what if they think I'm a monster – they're my friends! And now that I've got you safe, nothing is stopping me from helping them, whether they want it or not!"

Miito sighed. "Well, if we're going to do this, let's do it well. Duck!"

They ran towards the castle, Miito yelling out the instructions, Ginger bobbing and weaving.

Whether the others liked it or not, they were there to help.

* * *

Jake tried to hate the virus as she just sat there, riddling her words with key information he simply couldn't find. But he couldn't make himself. She just looked so sweet and familiar it made his head hurt as he combed through his memories, looking for something vital that he could tell was missing.

"Tell me where Crimson is!"

Twistella gave a sigh, pushing back the bells of her hat.

"Would you like to hear it simple and short,

Or should I break your brain with my retort?"

She asked prettily, gazing at him with a smile as the smoke blinded them from the world.

"Mod damn it just tell me!" He cried.

"She's in the place where none survive,

Or those who do have changed their lives,

But you won't understand that Jake,

After all, you're dumber than a rake!"

She laughed cruelly.

That was the breaking point for Jake. "Do not." He growled, fire in his eyes. "Call me." He tightened one hand on the wheel. "DUMB!" He roared, shoving Twistella out of the open door with his other hand, watching her tumble out of Crimson's seat and into the smoke, where she was lost for him. His engine roared in response, and he floored the pedal, yanking the wheel as he drove out of the darkness, headed straight towards Diet Cola Mountain.

* * *

The four boys drove in silence, Ron perched on the back of Gloyd's kart, Kevin on Swizzle's, their expressions grim. The fate of the others weighed on them, bending their happiness and crushing their smiles. They arrived at the castle, glad to see it undefended, as promised.

"Alright everyone, here's what we're going to do-" Swizzle started, before being interrupted by Ron. "Hold on a second, unicorn pop boy," he said, raising a hand, "who put you in charge?"

"Well, I'm the one with all the information, so…" Swizzle retorted. Kevin groaned. "Look guys, can't we decide together?"

Eventually, they managed to formulate a plan which they were all happy with – go in, fight anyone you would encounter, then when you reached the code room, go in and eliminate the virus.

The first part was easy. They crept through one of the side doors, hugging the pillars as they moved along the hallway. The only problem was Swizzle and Ron.

"Ow! Watch it, bean head!"

"Not my fault you were in the way, biscuit brain!"

"C'mon guys, stop fighting for a second?"

"Let's just keep going…"

Every few feet, they would find something to argue over. It was delaying their progress, and it wasn't making anyone feel better.

"Jeez, can't you control your own feet?" Swizz hissed again, as Ron accidently stepped on his toe. "Not my fault yours are so big!" Ron spat back. Swizz growled. "What is your problem with me, anyway?"

"What's your problem with my girlfriend?" Ron retorted.

"She's vain, pompous and thinks she's better then everyone. Funny how alike you two are!" Swizzle replied, moving round the next pillar. Ron squeezed behind it with him, Kevin and Gloyd bringing up the rear.

"Well you're an arrogant cheat whose only friend is a no-good prankster!" Ron snapped. "Hey! Don't drag me into this!" Complained Gloyd.

Swizzle was slowly turning red. "I bet Crumbelina told you all about Adorabeezle and I, didn't she? Somehow, she always manages to forget that half of it was her fault!"

Ron frowned. "I've never heard anything about you and Adorabeezle. All I know is that you have no right to insult my girlfriend, no matter how smart you think you are, Mr Know-It-All."

"Oh, you're going down, cookie cretin!" Swizz snarled, jumping at Ron, who laughed with venom. "Oh, that's your best one yet!"

"Guys! Can't you both shut up? Do I need to remind you that the fate of everyone in our game rests on us?" Kevin reprimanded as he pulled them apart. "If you can't work together, just stay away from each other! Mod!" He sighed, letting go of them.

* * *

They got into the throne room safely. The castle was completely undefended.

"Weird… I mean, I expected the distraction to work, but what could they need to defend this much?" Gloyd wondered aloud, shivering as he looked around the empty room.

"I don't know, but every second we spend standing around is probably putting our friends in more danger. Let's hurry." Kevin replied. They were a few feet away from the throne when suddenly, a loud blip sound was heard over their heads. They looked up to see Crimson fall from the sky, arms failing as she crushed the Rancis look-alike.

"Oh mod, sorry Kev!" She got up and pulled him up with her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" He exclaimed, grinning with relief as he pulled the girl into a hug. "Where did you come from?" He asked, delighted to see her alive.

"Where you're all about to go."

The sound waves hit them before they could even make out the words – they fell to the floor, clawing at their ears, groaning under the pressure of simply that voice.

Twistella walked forwards, a glare in her eyes.

"You think you could escape me that easily, Little Miss Crunch?" She spat at the girl, who was too busy trying to drive the noise out of her head to answer. "Well you will never escape me again. I always knew you were strong, but now I see that you are too strong – at least, as a glitch." An evil smile spread over her face. She raised her hand, and Crimson lifted into the air with it. The girl felt an excruciating pain start in her very core, as she felt a fundamental part of herself being ripped away. The realisation dawned on her. The virus was trying to take her glitch. They fought inside her, a battle of wills as waves of energy crashed against her flimsy defences. She was on the edge of surrender when suddenly, the attack ceased. She fell to the floor, luckily not too far, and sat up, opening her eyes. Before her was the virus, slumped over sideways, and behind it was a familiar face.

"Ginger?" She breathed.

The curly haired girl grinned, the bear on her shoulder grunting. "I'm here too, you know."

Swizzle frowned. "Wait – I thought she was working for them."

"Yes – because they were holding Miito hostage, to make sure I obeyed. I tried to help Damon and Jubileena escape, but then the virus came in, and…" she shuddered. "Anyway, now I have Miito, so I don't give a flying fudge what they say anymore."

Ron laughed delightedly. "Ginger, you are officially the best!"

Crimson joined in the smile, until she realise something. "But – Miito only went missing on the day of the show. And you must have been working with them before then, or you wouldn't have been able to watch Jubileena. You're lying to us!"

Ginger shook her head, the gingerbread clip hanging on by a thread. "I'm not. Jubilee blackmailed me. You see," she took a deep breath, straightening her back, "I have fangs, inside my mouth, and when I get angry or scared or upset, they leak venom. There, that's my big secret. Along with the fact that I'm blind, but some of you guys already knew that. So…" she looked up at them, defiance in her eyes. "Do you hate me now?"

There was a momentary silence. Then, Crimson broke into a grin. "Of course I don't hate you, idiot! You just saved my life! How could I hate you?" She threw herself at the other girl, pulling her close tightly, making Miito fall off her shoulder.

Swizzle glanced at his watch. "Oh mod, how long have we been here? The others are still waiting on us! Hurry!"

They ran behind the throne, and Swizzle and Ron both tried to push to the front at once. "Dude." Exclaimed Swizzle. "Move over, I've got the code!"

"Up up down down left right left right B A start." Growled Ron. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "How did you know that?" Questioned Swizzle. "I-I don't know." Ron pondered. "It was just-just a memory. But-it's gone."

Feeling a great deal more worried than they were before, the team waited for Swizzle to input the code, then gazed in wonder at the lifeblood of the game.

"Is it meant to be so … red?"

Gloyd's question went unanswered. The only sounds were Miito's whispers to Ginger, as they beheld the code.

The usually glimmering blue boxes were infected with a glitching red colour that jumped from box to box. At the moment, the core boxes were managing to fight off the invasion, but it was obvious that the defences were weakening. Every few seconds, another code box glitched and warped, and the virus became stronger.

"Wh-what exactly did Vanellope tell you, Swizzle?" Asked Kevin.

"She said, um, that… that…" Swizzle's voice wavered. Looking at the disaster in front of him, he couldn't remember a word of what the president had said.

Luckily, someone did.

"We go to the main box, right?" Came Ron's voice. Swizzle turned to him. "Yeah…yeah, we do."

"And then?" demanded the cookie boy. "There was something about a reset?"

"Inside the main code box, there's a section of code, in the game setting folder, which should reset the game. So we turn that on, and make sure that we're plenty secure, and hopefully everything should go back to normal."

Ron clapped his hands. "Right then – someone get us some rope!"

In a few minutes, they had managed to produce some liquorice, and tie it round Swizzle and Ron as they looped the other end around the handrails that stood in the entrance of the code room. The two boys squeezed at the entrance next to one another. Swizzle turned to face Ron, indigo eyes staring into brown ones.

"Ready?" He asked, an air of defiance to his voice.

"You bet it." Replied Ron.

As a two, they jumped into the blue room.

* * *

The teens back at the mountain were on high alert. When they heard a kart pull up outside, they were there before it had even stopped.

Fortunately, no hypnotised army fans got out. Only Jake, falling out of the seat of his truck, collapsing to the ground.

"Jake! Thank mod!" Cried Damon, running over to the boy and grabbing his arm, pulling him up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," wheezed Jake, peppering his speech with coughs, "but the others aren't. Twistella sent Crimson somewhere, and I don't know what for, and then Minty, Snow and Lucy had disappeared, and I just don't know what's happened!"

Vanellope frowned. "Swizzle's team still hasn't got back to us. We need to do something."

"What do you suggest?" Enquired Rancis.

Vanellope's glare hardened, her eyes steel.

"If she wants a fight…"

"Let's give her one."

 **That's fighting talk.**

 **Originally this was going to be a longer chapter, but I'm tired and I wanted to update so I'll draw it to a close and simply have a long finale and epilogue.**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Thanks to gameprincezz and countryboy93 for reviewing!**

 **The penultimate chapter!**

They travelled fast, leaving a trail of dust behind them. They had left Cynethia, as she was too injured to fight, and Adorabeezle to help her and keep an eye on the computer, so they knew where Twistella's forces were. The mood was grim - no one uttered a word. Whatever happened, they were going to save their game or go down fighting.

* * *

Jubilee entered the throne room with a triumphant smile on her face. She had captured those three pesky teens and had them thrown into the fundungeon, where her guards would force information out of them.

Her grin soon faded, however, when she beheld the broken body of the virus, lying on the floor. "Mistress!" She cried, running to its side and turning it over. The orange soulless eyes gazed up at her, and she panicked. She shook the young body until it snarled "Cease your shaking, you insufferable girl!"

The virus pulled itself up, brushing off as it stood, Jubilee hot on its heels. "What happened? Where are those racers?" She growled. Jubilee winced, thanking the special coding ears for the protection they offered her against that horrid voice.

"What racers, mistress?"

"It was a ploy, it was all a distraction! The racers at the caravans meant nothing! They have gone into the code room!" Hissed the virus, spotting the open door behind the throne. "Come, we must catch them before they ruin everything!"

They were within throwing distance of the door when suddenly the whole castle shook with an explosion that nearly sent them to their knees.

"What was that?" Exclaimed Jubilee, grabbing on to the throne. "It must be another distraction!" Cursed the virus. "Quick. You go stop the racers, and I will summon the troops. Go!"

Jubilee needed no further encouragement. She ducked round the throne and ran for the code room. Twistella let a grin spread across her face as it melted away. She transformed into a whirlpool of blood red code. A message raced out of her mind, and soon all the candy fans were marching to the castle, ready to meet the oncoming attack.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jubilee had met with some defences.

"Ah, there's the little traitor. I was wondering where you'd got to."

Ginger stood in her path bravely, her fists raised. "Come on, move aside, or I will have to do something I regret." Snarled the cherry girl.

"No!" Ginger's voice wavered. "Yeah, we're through with you!" Added Miito in his growly voice. The dark girl could sense the fear of the other girl. She let an evil smile spread across her face. Ginger gulped as Jubilee invaded her mind, eroding her self-confidence, breaking down her mental firewall. "Well, well, well, looks like you've forgotten why you helped me in the first place. I can still tell your friends all about your little secret, serpent."

"We already know, Darkheart." Came a voice from behind the girl. She spun, finding herself face to face with Kevin.

"Ah, the little ringmaster come to help his tightrope walkers. So tell me Kevin, how does it feel to know that you letting me take over your circus caused the injuries of so many of your friends, the capture of your sister, and soon to be the death of others?" She asked, glancing distastefully at Ginger.

"Guys? What's going on out there?" Came Crimson's voice. She and Gloyd emerged from the tunnel, pulling to a stop when they spotted the dark cherry girl. "Wha-When did she get here?" Gloyd demanded, a spice bomb at the ready.

"How rude, Gloyd … not to address a lady in person. I can't believe I actually liked you, all those years ago. I am not 'she', Gloyd," Jubilee stated, advancing on the boy. "I am Jubilee Darkheart nee Bing Bing, and you will address me with proper respect!" She snarled.

"Bing Bing…?" Gloyd had time to utter, thrown off balance by her wayward remark, before Jubilee grabbed his collar and with super human strength threw him against the glowing blue, growing red wires of code that lined the hall. He began to jolt uncontrollably, twitching as his dark hair began to smoke, stuck to them through the pure force of the shocks.

"Gloyd!" Cried the other three. Crimson and Ginger turned on the cherry girl, whose face was light up eerily blue in the electrical light, a manic grin on her face. "Come on then girls, show me what you've got!" She taunted as they ran at her. Kevin sprinted over to Gloyd, carefully pulling the electrocuted boy away from the wires. He collapsed to the floor in a slumped heap, unmoving.

Crimson drew her sword, the familiar sound of the scraping scabbard filling her ears. She held it in front of her, sinking into a defensive stance, as Jubilee raised an eyebrow cockily and clicked a few buttons on her gloves. Two short knives shot out of the wrists, and she grabbed them.

"Welcome, all, to the final show of Cirque de Sucre's famous swordswoman. Because after this fight, she'll have no arms left to hold her sword with!" Jubilee cried, as she swung her left blade towards Crimson's neck and her right at the girl's sword, a frontal attack. Crimson weaved out of the way, then retaliated with a stab of her own. They clashed, blades whirling, streaks of silver, as red met white.

* * *

"Did you hear that?"

Ron turned to Swizzle. "What?" The unicorn pop boy frowned, his indigo eyes clouded with fear. "It sounded like someone was screaming. It sound like … Gloyd." Ron's brow furrowed, and he looked away from the other boy, absent-mindedly spinning a code box. "Oh. Um … earlier, when I said that Gloyd was just a no-good prankster … I didn't mean it. I let my mouth run sometimes, and Gloyd is a good person … he's been great to Cherry, he's always good with people, and some of his pranks are quite funny." Admitted the cookie boy. Swizzle smiled, lips pressed tightly together. The fear didn't leave his face, but it faded a little more. Ron cleared his throat, glad the dark light hid his red face. "Ok then … let's find this reset button."

They made their way to the main code box, the name Vanellope Von Schweetz dominating it. Swizzle swam up front, and floated around in the air hesitantly before touching it with shaking fingers. It flashed once, then nothing.

"C'mon Swizzle, I thought you were supposed to be good with computers. Everyone knows you have to double tap a file for it to open." Ron smirked before pushing past the boy and opening it. Swizzle wasn't angry though - he couldn't help but notice it was the first time Ron had actually said his name.

"Ok - whoa. How are we going to find it in this mess?" The boys stared at the hundreds, thousands, millions of lines of code before them, connecting all the elements of Vanellope's personality. Swizzle turned to Ron, and froze. The boy's face was overcome with an expression of bitterness and anger. He reached a hand towards the code slowly, then stopped, drawing it back to his side.

"I … I remember something about this. Before the circus … why was I in a circus at all?" He questioned, whipping his head around to Swizzle, who gulped at the fierce expression in the boy's eyes. "Hey man, it wasn't my fault. No one knows, remember? But if you're remembering stuff about your past, maybe Jubilee's 'borrowing' is changing. Which is either really good," he turned to the jungle of code in front of him, "Or really bad. Let's get to work."

* * *

The racers pulled to a stop in front of the castle, the performers jumping off the back of the candy karts. Rancis turned to Vanellope, who felt like crying at his bashed, bruised, and beaten face. "Ok Nelly, what's our plan?" He tried to smile, wincing in pain. Vanellope's hazel eyes narrowed. "Plans haven't got us anywhere so far. All we're trying to do now is distract the virus, and save the ones who aren't here. The rest is up to the boys - if they can't reset the game, it doesn't matter what we do."

On that sombre note the group armed themselves, throwing supplies to one another, creating a barricade around the castle doors. Soon enough it was five feet high, with all the teens on the inside, backs to the doors.

That turned out to be a fateful mistake.

Their fears were realised when the doors groaned loudly, attracting all attention. They spun to find themselves face to face with an enormous army, blank, dead-eyed fans filling the entry hall of the castle. And hovering above them was the virus in its true form, a tornado of glitching red code, destructive, unpredictable, chaotic.

"Well well racers - it would seem you led yourselves into that one!"

* * *

Ringing clangs echoed into the throne room as the two girls fought on, oblivious to the troubles of their friends, the only thing in their mind the dodging and slashing that would guarantee their survival. Beads of sweat rolled down Crimson's brow as she swung left, pulling her other arm behind her. Jubilee just didn't seem to tire at all. She laughed savagely as she swung her daggers, getting closer with every swipe. Crimson, on the other hand, was near her breaking point. All she needed was one chance to relieve the heat of Jubilee, then she could disarm her. She was easily the better swordswoman - she just wasn't sneaky enough. Jubilee had probably be studying her technique for ages. So…

Time to try something new.

* * *

"Swizzle … earlier, you said something about you and Adorabeezle. Tell me about that." Ron uttered into the darkness. Swizzle sighed. "Those aren't exactly happy memories, Ron. Why?" Ron bit his lip, scrunching up his eyebrows. "Just … I think it'll help. Just try it." Swizzle shrugged.

"There's not much to know, really." He started, floating over to a different side of the code as he searched through the web. "A couple of years after our game was plugged in, we got together - we'd always been good friends, and she was pretty. But things grew sour … we lasted about a year before - well, there was this girl from another game, and she was just so funny, and beautiful, and friendly, but I just felt trapped in my relationship. We were both looking to end it … and she was a real harpy about it, I can tell you. But, yeah, feel free to judge me now. I've had it before." He sighed, swimming away from the searched section to the far corner.

Ron frowned, holding his hands to his head. There was something … an old memory. A name. "Maria." He said, realisation dawning on his face. "Maria Robotnik. She was the other girl."

Swizzle shot a confused expression at the boy. "How did you know that?"

But Ron was too distracted to answer, his hands still pressed to his temples. "No, no, that's not right, you didn't break up, you got back together after a month or so, and you've been stronger than ever, and you're working your issues out together…" Swizzle laughed. "Look man, I don't know what fantasy world you're living in, but that didn't happen."

Ron whipped his head to stare at the other boy, panic in his eyes. "Wait - you're … you're not supposed to be here … where's Vanellope?" Swizzle frowned, concerned about the boy's behaviour. He swam over to him and grabbed his shoulders. "Ron, Vanellope is back at base with the others. It's you me, Gloyd, Crimson, Ginger and Kevin who are on this mission. Are you alright?"

Ron's eyes widened. "Of course … but wait - who are Crimson, Ginger and Kevin?"

* * *

The teens found themselves frozen with horror as the whirlpool cast its orange lights onto each of them. "Oh, this should be interesting. Let's see how you deal with the full force of my army, racers. Except you, redneck. You, I will kill myself!" It shouted as it spun smaller and smaller until it was back in its humanoid form, a sword strapped to its back. The army charged, and the teens raised their now weak defences against them.

Jake and Twistella met, Twistella freeing her blade as she smiled evilly. "You know, I can't really kill you. But when I regain my strength, and when you've lost yours, I can absorb your energy and send you into limbo, where you will be slowly deleted. That's where I sent Crimson, you see. But that glitch escaped - I won't make the same mistake with you."

Jake could barely understand her over the horrible waves of sound coming towards him - too high to bear, too low to take, gargling, choking, laughing, singing, all at once. It was too much for his ears, too random, too disjointed, with too many pitches all speaking in perfect disharmony. He raised his rifle in defence as she swung down her sword, grabbing the end with his spare hand. Sparks flew as she attacked him again and again, all the time taunting him to keep him weak and powerless.

* * *

Minty paced the inside of her cell. She ran to the window and grabbed the bars, screaming in misery as she shook them violently. She ran into the door again, whacking her already bruised shoulder into it, wincing in pain as it stayed unmoving, stoic, cold and not even scratched. She moaned and lay on the cool stone floor, glaring at the ceiling.

She couldn't escape this one with strength. She realised that. So what could she do?

Suddenly, an image of her cousin floated in her mind. Swizzle, the brainiac, the clever charmer, the smart player, the intelligent one. What would he do about this?

It was like one of his video games. Escape the room using what you had in your inventory. Break the window bars? Not an option. Input all the different lock combinations? It was a key lock, like the one in her bathroom.

She sat up. The bathroom. Where she'd got locked out of accidently. She really had to go, so she used her bow to… She grinned as she jumped to her feet, pulling the bow off her head. She wrenched the bow itself off the hairband, then grabbed the crocodile clip that held it in place. Breaking it in two, she dropped the remains of her hair accessories and knelt by the lock.

Rattle it around a bit.

Turn it.

Just a little further.

And…

Click!

A broken forest green bow lay on the floor, its owner long gone.

* * *

Swizzle laughed shakily. "C'mon, Ron, this isn't the time to joke around!" Ron shook his head. "Stupid memory... Who are they?"

"They're the other performers! The ones who are probably risking their necks for us at this very second!" Cried Swizzle. "Think!"

Ron blinked a few times. "Crimson ... Crimson and I are sword fighters. We have a circus act together. But ... I'm not a circus performer. I'm ... I'm a racer. Aren't I?"

Swizzle's frown increased. "Maybe where you used to be, before Jubilee 'borrowed' you. But right now, you're a swordsman. And your partner is out there waiting for us to fix this code, eliminate the virus. So please, no matter what's happening in there," he said, pointing at the boy's forehead, "Just look for the game setting box."

Ron nodded determinedly. "You're right. The virus must be stopped. He won't get away with this!"

As the cookie boy swam to the other side of the code, Swizzle stayed floating where he was.

He?

* * *

Jubileena and Torvald fought together, back to back, chucking grenades, pistols in hand, their faces splattered with icing and code. "We need to get out of this siege! It's a bloodbath!" Torvald shouted to her companion. Jubileena nodded, grim-faced, and turned to the wall of chocolate, stale cake and biscuit they had piled up. She hefted another hand grenade, ready to pull the pin. But out of nowhere, a little cherry dipped kiss appeared, one of her own fans, and stabbed a short kitchen knife into her stomach. She screamed, code pouring out, as Torvald spun around and shot the fan in the head.

"Jubi! Oh my mod, Jubi!" She screamed, as she grabbed the injured girl in one arm, holding off hypnotized fans with her pistol as she climbed up the barricade uncertainly.

Jubileena couldn't see. Her vision was going blurry, the only thing she could think about the pain and the freezing candy cane embedded in her stomach, growing fainter as she lost more and more code. The code itself hit the floor and turned red, winding its way towards the virus, seeping into her.

Torvald lay Jubileena down on a reasonably steady door. "Hang on Jubi! Hang on for me!"

Jubileena was feeling tired. As much as she tried to hold on, the pain was like riptide, pulling her away.

"Hang on Jubi!"

Her eyes closed.

* * *

Sniffling, Snowanna looked out of her door's window again. No one. Not a soul. She couldn't even hear Lucy and Minty anymore. She went back to the only corner of her cell that was lit, and sank down to the floor, back against the wall.

Her eyes grew watery.

After all this effort, she just couldn't stop herself from crying. She was tired. Tired of fighting, tired of worrying, tired of everything.

A tear spilled over the edge of her eyelid.

When would this nightmare end? When would she wake up, and find herself back in regular Sugar Rush, with all her friends, ready to race, her fans supporting her, enjoying her life without constant threat of death and imprisonment?

Another tear joined the first, racing down her cheeks.

Maybe never. Maybe they would be stuck like this forever. She didn't even know what time it was anymore. They could have been fighting for days, for all that she knew.

She sobbed, the quiet sound swelling until it filled the room.

Would she ever even see her friends again? Her family? What had happened to her family? And on all the other islands in Sugar Rush … she shuddered as she thought of her family, blank stares on their face, on the ferry, making their way to the Mainland, along with every other citizen of their game. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, against a group of about twenty teenage kids.

She got up, wiping the tear tracks off her round cheeks. She wandered over to the door again, pulling herself up to gaze through the window.

This time, a mirror face was doing the same.

"Minty?!" Snowanna gasped, stumbling backwards from surprise. "Snow!" The other girl rejoiced, before disappearing behind the door. A moment later, Snowanna heard a click, and it swung open, the green girl standing in the light of the corridor, a proud smile on her face.

"What's say we go get Luce then win this thing?"

Snowanna grinned.

"That sounds like a plan."

* * *

Jubilee didn't understand. When Crimson was on the verge of defeat, she'd somehow managed to change her entire style! It was nonsensical. The moves were far too reckless for her, not guarded at all, impulsive and occasionally foolish. But even so, there was something familiar about the way she flicked her wrist, the way she caught strikes on the flat of the blade, the way her eyes shone with savage pleasure as she managed a good move.

Then, it clicked.

"Oh my Crimson, your style not working out for you? Well I've got some news…" Said the dark girl, pulling her blades in closer towards her, fighting in a defence position.

"I could always predict Ron's moves!"

She locked her dagger into the chink between Crimson's blade and her hilt, then twisted. Crimson shouted in anguish as her wrist turned with it, dropping the blade from the pain. Jubilee moved in quicker than the eye could see, pushing her blade against the girl's throat lightly, the edges nearly cutting her neck. Ginger and Kevin shot to their feet, but Jubilee shouted before they could do anything: "Ah ah ah! Make a move, and she dies. And if she dies, she doesn't regenerate." She threatened. The other two backed down.

"Good. Now, pick him up, and come with me. We're going to the balcony."

* * *

Vanellope shot bullet after bullet into the crowd, standing atop of Candlehead's kart, the birthday girl next to her, her usually cheerful smile replace by a grim expression of silent horror. She threw a few cherry bombs, watching as the space she had cleared filled up again with faceless soldiers. Twistella's forces just didn't seem to die out - there were too many. They had killed and killed, the splattered code and icing and the bodies of the fans that kept mounting up proof enough. She sighed as she shot a few darts into a horde of Rancis's fans, and was reaching for a sword when Candlehead stifled a scream and shouted "Vanellope!"

She spun around, looking to where the girl was pointing. A doughnut policeman had cornered and disarmed Rancis. As the realisation dawned too late in her mind, the pastry buried its spear into the boy's side.

Vanellope let out a strangled scream as she glitched through the air, landing on the policeman's back. He had only time to feel the weight before Vanellope stabbed her sword through its head. She fell to the ground next to Rancis.

"No, no, no, no… wake up! Please wake up!" She cried, grabbing his lifeless face in her hands, watching in despair as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"Vanellope!" She heard a voice shout. She looked up to see Damon standing above her, deflecting a skittle grenade, which blew sugar shards off the side of the castle. "He's gone! We have to leave him and save ourselves!"

"No!" Cried the girl, grabbing the peanut butter boy's jacket. "If you won't leave, willingly, I'm just going to take you!" Damon shouted back as he grabbed the girl and wrenched her away from Rancis's dead body. She struggled and kicked and screamed, but he was just too strong for her. Eventually she gave up, hanging limply as she watched the fans trample over the blond boy's body.

* * *

Lucy refused to stay put.

That was what Jubilee had said in her dark voice as they threw her in here, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

As if Lucy could go anywhere else.

She nudged the floor with her feet. Maybe she could prised one of the tiles up, and dig her way out. Kevin and she had tried that once, in the throne room, when they were trying to… the throne room?

She felt dizzy. The memory rushed back to her. They were little trying to get out of the castle to sneak out and see their friends. Their dad had caught them … his face swam just out of her reach. All she could see was her brother, his face scrunched up with effort, a candy cane crowbar stolen from the tool shed in his hands as he strained to prise the tile of the ground, her in pyjamas, clutching her teddy as she egged him on.

She was always the one to egg him on. Which usually resulted in him making bad decisions. Decisions that she would blame him for, even though he was only trying to make her happy, to get his little sister to smile.

All this was too late, but she still felt crushed by her guilt. All Kev had ever done was look out for her, and now she couldn't help him. For all she knew, he could be dead, before she'd ever had the chance to say she loved him.

Because she did. He was her brother. And she loved him, more than anyone else. No one could part them, come between them. No walls could separate them like this. She stood, and turned to the door, glaring with a hatred unlike any that had ever appeared on her sweet face before.

It swung open.

Lucy blinked. Did she do that?

But as her vision grew accustomed to the corridor light, she could see two figures standing on the entrance.

"Well Lucy, you want to help us save our friends?"

She grinned.

* * *

Jubilee dragged Crimson down a long corridor and up a flight of stairs, the other two following behind with Gloyd draped between them. The reached a large door, with "Vanellope's room" engraved on it. The dark girl pushed the door open, and hurried past the large plush bed, messy dresser, and the over piled desk, until she reached the double glass doors that led out onto the balcony. Ginger and Kevin slowed, and the blond boy gazed out of the far window. She could see in the distance, in flames and disrepair, their beautiful big top, slowly disappearing into the night. The sky was dark – the green and red clouds still hung menacingly in the air, and not a single star was visible. He sighed. Then, Ginger poked him in the ribs.

"Do you have a plan?" She whispered. "No." He breathed back. Because how could he give her false hope? No matter how fast they were, Jubilee was faster, and she hadn't let go of Crimson for the entire journey. The only way they could escape would be to let Crimson die.

"Hurry up!" Hissed the dark girl, and they obeyed silently. As they entered the cool air of outdoors, they could hear shouts and screams. They ran to the edge, Gloyd trailing the floor, and looked over the edge to see their friends locked in a hopeless battle.

"Where's – where's Luce?" Gasped the blond boy. His sister was nowhere to be seen, but he could easily see Torvald defending Jubileena's already dead body, evidently not realising her friend had slipped away, and Rancis's flattened figure lying soaked in the code of the candy fans around him, a spear shaft jutting from his side. Finally, he could see Twistella taunting Jake, forcing him back against the barricade as he tried to defend himself with his rifle, his hat lying abandoned, dripping with blooded code. He heard Ginger wince next to him, and glanced over to her. "I can hear her…" she said, moving her free hand to one of her ears. "And to think, I helped cause this. I am a monster."

"You're not the monster, Gin. The virus is." Kevin replied, straining to hear Twistella's voice as easily as Ginger could. The girl sniffed and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she gasped as the dagger came in contact with her neck. A fraction of a second later, Kevin felt a cool blade lie on his throat as well.

"Alright, we're going to do this nicely. Meaning: you guys dump the pumpkin boy, they back away, and I don't kill you." Jubilee murmured into their ears. They did as they were instructed, their survival instincts taking over. As the placed him on the ground, Jubilee moved quicker than the eye could see, holding Gloyd up by the collar with some unnatural force, and pressing the dagger against his neck.

"Now you three go inside."

They left the balcony, and she waved her hand, smirking in satisfaction as the lock clicked shut. This time, she was going to win.

She turned away, the pumpkin boy aloft in her hand, hanging unconsciously with blood spilling from his blackened face, a gruesome trophy. Then, she reached the edge of the balcony. As the three inside watched in horror, she swung him over the railings.

"RACERS!"

* * *

The sound echoed down to Cherry. She glanced up at the source of the noise, allowing herself a second, and screamed. Her boyfriend dangled from Jubilee's death grasp, his hair sticking up, his eyes lolling in their sockets, his clothes burnt and torn. In her momentary distraction, a fan tried to attack her, but suddenly, it froze.

All the fans froze. The teens had the chance to look around for a second. There were cries and sobs filling the air as heads spun wildly, but one teen was only looking at one thing.

Jake was staring at Twistella. The girl who had just tried to kill him, who had the voice of a demon, who wasn't even a girl, but a virus – she was so beautiful in the dark light, her eyes lit up with delight.

He slowly turned to see what all the others were looking at. Jubilee, a cold, calculating smile on her face as she thrust Gloyd forwards.

"What do you care about more, racers? Saving your game or saving your friend?"

* * *

Kevin, Crimson, Miito and Ginger were panicking. Miito kept trying to head butt the glass, Crimson was talking to herself frantically, Kevin was pacing the room, glancing out of the doors every now and then, and Ginger had taken the sanest option: throwing herself to the floor and shaking with tears.

Then, the door creaked open. All four heads turned towards the noise. "Anyone home?" Came a voice.

"Minty!" They cried, as the green girl came into the room, closely followed by her two sidekicks. "Luce!" Cried Kevin, running to hug his sister as she did the same. Tears rolled down Lucy's cheeks as she buried her face into her older brother's shoulder, inhaling the comforting scent. "I love you, Kev." She mumbled. "Love you too Luce." He replied, squeezing her tightly.

"Hey guys, I hate to break up the sibling love, but my sisters are currently fighting for their life, so could we actually do something?" Minty said, carefully breaking them apart. "They're not fighting anymore, Mintz." Snowanna said, a quiver in her voice as she pointed out of the doors. Minty glanced, took in what was outside, and cursed.

"Alright – I've got an idea, but we're only going to get one shot at it. But it could help fix our whole problem. So, we'll have to be smart." She declared. Crimson coughed. "Since when have you liked to do things smartly, Minty?"

Minty turned her fiery gaze on the girl. "Since I was locked in a cell. Now come on, we've got work to do."

* * *

"Where is it?! Where is it?!" Swizzle cried, ready to break down into tears. "I don't know!" Ron shouted back, frustration painted across his face. Swizzle wailed as he let himself float onto his back. They had searched Vanellope's entire code, inside and out. But they hadn't seen the slightest trace of a game settings folder.

Suddenly, a glimmer of light above caught his attention.

A box. Still glowing blue, bright against the dark ominous red that was creeping in on every side.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"What did Vanellope say? Exactly?"

"She said, go to the main code box, and inside it, there's a game setting folder, and inside that, there's a piece of code that will reset the game."

"Did she ever say that the main code box was her code box?"

Ron frowned. "No. She didn't. Why?" He looked up at the boy. Wordlessly, Swizzle pointed at the box above him, shining with the words "DEFAULT GAME SETTINGS" stamped on the side.

A grin spread over the cookie boy's face. "Swizzle, I could kiss you!" He shouted, as they swam up to the box together. The unicorn boy returned the smile and double tapped the box.

Their breath caught in their throats as it flashed twice.

Then, it opened. Ron scrolled through the options.

"Language … Time … Firewall system, that's not been useful … Reset! Here it is!" He exclaimed. Swizzle moved his hand in next to the boy's and tapped on it. A holographic notice floated in front of them, complete with keyboard.

"Password? What password?" Swizzle questioned. Ron's eyes widened as an influx of memories flashed before his eyes. "Oh mod…" He started hyperventilating, clutching at his forehead.

"Ron? Ron! Talk to me!"

The last thing he saw was Swizzle's face as he sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

After Minty had thoroughly explained her plan, they sprang into action. Kevin, Lucy, and Snowanna lined the walls next to the doors, heavy or pointed objects from around the room gathered in their hands. Minty, Crimson and Ginger stood by the door itself, contemplating it.

"It's too thick. No blade will cut through that. All for the defence of the princess, I suppose." Minty groaned, rapping it with her knuckles. Ginger listened very carefully to the ring very carefully, its sound and duration. Then, she grinned.

"No blade, you say? Well, what about acid?"

Minty turned to her. "I guess that would work…" She said uncertainly. "But where are we going to get acid from?"

Ginger took a deep breath. She let her mind fill with all the moments she'd ever felt alone, victimized, bullied, upset, angry, unwanted, unloved. She felt the familiar bitter taste in the back of her mouth as her raw emotions overwhelmed her – fear, rage, sadness. Then, she spat at the glass.

It sizzled as the acid landed on it, burning through the glass and casting off putrid fumes. Ginger wiped her mouth as she heard Minty say: "Do I – do I even want to know how you can do that?"

Ginger laughed slightly. It was the first time her fangs had ever actually come in useful. "I reckon explanations can come later. Let's go save our friends."

Minty grinned as she pushed her hand through the hole, crocodile clip in hand as she tuck it in the lock. After a few twists and turns, they were out.

"Here goes nothing."

* * *

"So, racers, what will your choice be? I mean, let's face it, you're already doomed – what can you do, really, that'll save you now?"

Jubilee taunted on and on, pushing down the racers' will, making them doubt themselves, crush their moral. Although they didn't realise it, the virus invaded their minds, subtly dragging their self-esteem even lower.

Sticky looked around her as she watched the other teens faces fall. She looked up again at the body hanging limply from Jubilee's hand.

Something just didn't seem right.

She looked again at the boy's face.

She realised what was missing.

A smile.

Gloyd always had a smile. And Gloyd always tried to put a smile on everyone else's face. Sticky frowned. If they were going to die, it really didn't seem fair for the cheerful prankster to go down without his mischievous grin. To be so expressionless in his last moments.

Then she realised something.

If Gloyd wasn't smiling, he wasn't living. And as much as it pained her, if he wasn't living, there was no point in him being alive.

She stood up straighter.

Jubilee had no hold on them. She was toying with them with an idle threat – or was it simply that she didn't know?

A fierce expression morphed on Sticky's face.

"You're exceptionally evil, did you know?" She shouted up at the virus. All of the others looked to her, and she felt her crushing shyness come over her. But she couldn't. She had to help somehow. "You're not just bargaining with our friend as bait, you're taunting us with his dead body!" She screamed, hot tears rushing into her eyes.

Jubilee seemed taken aback and alarmed. She looked to the boy in her hands. "He's de-"

She never got a chance to finish her sentence.

Like a ghost, Minty surfaced suddenly behind her, her face red in the light of the code of the slaughtered, her eyes wide, mouth snarled into a silent scream as she propelled the other girl off the edge of the balcony.

Jubilee screamed as she fell, her robotic hand still clinging on to the dead pumpkin boy.

* * *

"RON! Calm down!" Swizzle shouted as the other boy clutched his arm in a death grip. "You, Adorabeezle … not right … Vanellope … Crumbelina – oh mod, he's got Crumbelina! Password … password … password …" The boy babbled, his breathing shallow and quick. Swizzle panicked.

"Ron, please, just … just … argh!" Cried the unicorn boy, Ron's frantic feverish actions affecting him. He slapped the other boy sharply across the face, and before he could react, grabbed his face and brought it directly in front of his, until their foreheads touched.

"I don't know what's happening to you man, but there are people out their risking their lives, fighting against that virus, and only we can stop it. So focus!"

Ron's breathing steadied a little, but Swizz could still feel him shaking. "Swizzle … I think my memories are back … but nothing is right ... everything is the wrong way round …"

Swizzle sighed. "Ok Ron, and I promise we will fix that! But first, we need to – are you listening to me?" He asked, as the cookie boy's eyes drifted to the code box above us. Swizzle turned, and a strangled gasp escaped his lips. Travelling down the cord that connected the code box to the main hub was a dark red colour, inching its way towards them.

"Quick! Ron, do you know the password?" He cried, turning to the boy.

"Vanellope said the password was a riddle!" The other boy answered. "No!" Swizzle sobbed, turning back to the notice. "A riddle, a riddle … maybe we have to rearrange the letters? Or is password a code word for a different language? If we inputted the first letter of every word, but backwards, and…"

Ron let out a groan of frustration. "Stop being so smart and start thinking! The password is 'a riddle'!" He pushed the other boy aside, and typed the phrase into the notice keyboard. A new screen popped up.

"Reset game to default mode?"

Ron's finger planted itself onto the yes button.

Then, everything went dark.

Back at the front of the castle, everyone alive suddenly felt overcome by an enormous sense of weariness. Before their heads had hit the floor they were asleep.

So no one could hear the terrible scream that echoed through out the sugar coated land, a gargled choking tone with an enormous range of pitches.

And no one was around to see the virus blink out of existence.

 **Finally, I finish this chapter! I've been working on it for two days straight now, and I think it may be my longest one.**

 **Thanks for reading! Only the epilogue left now!**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!**


	14. Epilogue

**It's the last chapter! The actual last chapter!**

 **And it only took five months (minus four days)!**

 **Thanks to everyone who lent me their OC, it has been exceptionally fun to work with them all.**

 **Read on!**

Ron's eyes flew open.

He was still in the code room. He looked down at his waist. The rope that anchored him was still attached, thank mod.

He blinked.

His anxiety also seemed to have vanished. He could remember stuff though, but none of it fitted in with this world, which was just as clear to him. He even remembered the other performers – and that he was thankful for.

He twitched his fingers, then waved his arm.

What would he find outside of the code room? In fact, what would he find inside the code room? He looked around him. Below him was the bright blue, healthy glow of the code. He must have floated upwards as he slept.

He turned himself over, and swam downwards.

There was not a single trace of red. The code was perfected again, not a box out of order. A glimmer of movement near the other side of the code caught his eye. His head turned to see a shadow in front of a small code box, far off to the side.

He moved in that direction, kicking his legs as he paddled with his arms.

Swizzle was floating in a little ball, legs pulled up to his chest and a frown on his face. Ron stifled his laugh and shook the boy. For a few seconds he didn't react, and Ron felt his panic come back. Was he ever going to wake up? Or was Ron the only one? But then the indigo eyes opened, and Swizzle breathed in deeply.

"Ron – Ron, we did it!" He exclaimed, spinning his head around to see the perfect code. "And you're still here, and not having a panic attack! So, what's up with your memories?"

Ron bit his lip. "I don't really know. I can remember everything that happened since I appeared here, but also a lot of other stuff that never happened here, but did happen where I come from, but it involves all the same people."

Swizzle thought for a moment, his face pensive. "You know Ron – what you're saying, it kind of sounds like… nah, forget it, it's stupid. Let's go find the others." He said, grabbing his cord and starting to pull himself away. Ron was going to join him, until he noticed the name of the little box.

"Hey Swizzle, look at this. It says 'Story options'."

Swizzle swam back over. "Huh … I remember something Vanellope said, when we were first plugged in, about a story mode existing in the game, but I think Litwak disabled it because we were an arcade game, not a console game. Let's have a look." He reached over Ron's shoulder and double tapped the box. It opened to reveal a spinning wheel of options. Ron clicked on the first one, and opened the description.

"Let's see – in this story, Vanellope Von Schweetz meets a poor girl who has lost her kart and been blinded through a terrible accident. She helps her find her bear friends, and then…" He trailed off as a picture of the characters appeared. Vanellope was unmistakeable in her original racing suit, but the other girl…

"Is that Ginger?"

The girl in the picture had the same curly hair and freckly smile, a little hint of a raspberry furred head peeking out from behind her shoulder.

"A blind girl, looking for bears – it is Ginger!" Ron exclaimed. Swizzle exchanged a delighted grin with the boy. "That means that she is part of the game, not just some randomly created character! Look at some of the others!"

There were more stories: the racers discovering a hostile mermaid tribe but escaping by a series of underwater races, aided by a little friendly mermaid with cherry red hair; the racers having to face an unexpected villain with a motorcycle, tall with brown eyes that contained hypnotic orange spots; Vanellope encountering a girl in the forest with two diamond birthmarks under her eye, and helping her to become a racer. The boys were exuberantly happy with every story they found. Not every single one contained a circus performer, but many did. Eventually, they got to the last one.

"So, the racers are warned by a mysterious boy about an attack on their peaceful land, and the when it happens, the boy helps them save their land. Ah, here's the pic-" Swizzle's voice cut off suddenly. The picture showed four people laughing together. Swizzle in the picture had his arm around Adorabeezle, and talking to them was Crumbelina, and the person she was hugging.

Ron.

Unmistakeably.

"Okay … guess that's where I come in then." Ron said, trying to keep his voice from jumping. The whole description of the story fitted in perfectly with his older memories, it couldn't be coincidence. "C'mon Swizzle," he said, pushing away from the box, grabbing his rope to keep him anchored as he swam back to the entry hall, Swizzle hot on his heels.

They walked down the corridor in silence, focusing their attention ahead of them. They reached the door at the end, and Swizzle turned to Ron. "What if … what if everything's still bad?"

"We'll … run." Ron replied. He pushed open the door, and they emerged into the throne room.

It was perfect. Glistening sugar made up the pillars and the walls, the throne shining in gold, the tapestries hanging from the walls waving gently in the breeze, soft pastel colours dancing from them. They crossed it with nary a second glance, moving into the entry hall. Everything had been restored, there was no trace of any sort of conflict. They pulled open the great doors, dwarfed and ridiculed by the heavy chocolate panels.

Outside was an unexpected spectacle. The barricades of last night had disappeared, the bloody code that had stained the dirt crimson red vanished. Instead, all the citizens of Mainland Sugar Rush lay, spreading out all the way down to Racer's street, eyes closed, mouths agape, but not moving an inch.

"Are they asleep? Or … or…?" Swizzle questioned. Ron moved to a candy fan near him – one of Crumbelina's animal cookies. "They're not breathing." He said. The breath caught in Swizzle's throat. "But … but… but…"

Ron ignored him and grabbed the candy fan by the shoulders. He gave it a firm shake. After a few seconds, it gasped as it flew awake. "What – why – where?" It said, its voice high pitched and its eyes glimmering with life. "What happened?" it managed.

"A virus invaded Sugar Rush, and it took over all of you fans and citizens' codes, trying to make you kill us. Luckily, we managed to reset the game, and now everything is fine." Ron said reassuringly. "Now, if you could help wake up the fans that would be exceptional of you."

The fan nodded, and ran to the fan next to it, proceeding to shake it awake. It explained what had happened, and then they both ran off to a new fan. Meanwhile, Ron turned to Swizzle.

"Well, shall we wake up our lot? I sure hope they haven't got memory loss too."

Swizzle nodded. Ron turned to go wake up Damon, but Swizzle had one last remark to make.

"You know Ron, you're actually pretty smart."

The unicorn pop boy moved away, not seeing the pleased smile on Ron's face. He knelt y Vanellope, shaking her out of her stupor.

"Swizz? Did we win?" She said upon opening her eyes. "We sure did Vani." He replied. Vanellope laughed in delight, jumping up and punching the air. "Yes! Sugar Rush for the win! So have Twistella and Jubilee disappeared."

Swizzle frowned. "I can't see the virus, and it's gone from the code room, so I think it's been vanquished. As for Jubilee…"

"Not gone yet." Ron shouted over to them, standing over the dark girl, Damon looking around in wonder behind him. The other two ran over to look down on her sleeping form. Swizzle moved to wake up Gloyd, lying next to her, his collar still in her grip. "Hey man."

"Dying!" Gloyd screamed upon waking up. He looked around him in surprise at the regularity of Sugar Rush, then looked down at his arms, clean and perfectly healed. "Um … what exactly…" He tried to sit up, but was held back by the death grip on his jacket. Pulling his arms out of the sleeves, he grabbed his hat from the floor next to him and stood. "I guess the plan worked then? So why isn't she gone?"

"I don't think she was a part of the virus." Said Vanellope. "Remember how she said she was 'one of us'? Maybe her code is actually in the game, somewhere."

"I know where." Came a voice. Citrusella got to her feet, having been awoken by Damon. "She's from the future. She's Jubileena' future self."

There was a momentary silence. Then Gloyd laughed nervously. "Time travel, Citri? Are you okay?"

"It makes sense, though." Remarked Damon as he looked closely at the girl's face. "She has the same facial structure, and the same hair colour – nowhere near how sweet Jubi's personality is though."

"She gave me proof." Insisted Citrusella. "When I was in my cell, she showed me her and Jubes's hair ties, and they had the same name, in the exact same handwriting. Even the little splodge where Jubes's pen had gone funny was exactly the same."

"But how could she manage time travel?" Swizzle asked. None of them had an answer. "Probably the same way she pulled us all out of our own stories." Ron remarked. Everyone turned to face him. "Stories?" Damon repeated. Swizzle sighed. "Let's wake everyone else up first, then we can get this sorted." There was a mutual agreement, and they all moved on to another person, as Damon tied up Jubilee then dragged her to the castle steps.

There were tearful reunions and the sounds of relieved laughter filled the air. When all the racers and performers had been awakened, they moved on to the fans and citizens. Soon enough, everyone was on their feet.

"Where are Minty and the others?" Torvald asked Vanellope. "I don't know – maybe they're still in the fundungeon. I think I should send all the citizens home though. Come with me to the balcony?" She offered. Torvald nodded, and they made their way through the castle until they reached the balcony.

There, they found six racers in their deep sleeps. They nearly wept with relief as they were all awakened. After a few more explanations, everyone went downstairs except Lucy, Kevin and Vanellope.

The little president walked out onto the balcony. She had a megaphone in hand, and she could survey all her subjects from the overhanging balcony.

"Citizens of Sugar Rush!" She boomed. "Today marks a proud day. We have managed to pull our game from the jaws of defeat, and now we will celebrate our victory! We thank our saviours, for fighting so bravely in this struggle to break free of the virus that plagued our game…" Vanellope carried on praising the teens as Kevin leaned over to Lucy. "Has she rehearsed this or something?" He whispered. She giggled, but was suddenly struck with another memory. Kevin, whispering the exact same words into her ear, when they were far younger, as their mother made a speech in the exact same place Vanellope was now. Though she couldn't see her mother's face, she could see the raven ponytail that hung down her back, just below the hood of her mint green hoodie. She glanced at Kevin. By the look on his face, he'd made the same realisation. They looked at each other and after a moment, began to laugh.

"…So if you would go to your homes and continue with your daily lives, we will have a festival in honour of this great event in a day or so. And if all racers and performers could meet me in the castle dining room, that would be good. Thank you, Sugar Rush!" Vanellope yelled, her voice smothered by the thundering applause. She turned to the other two. "Wat were you laughing about?"

They swapped smiles again. "It's a long, long, story. We'll tell you downstairs."

They descended the enormous marble staircase, then opened a door marked meeting room. The other teens filed in behind them – Adorabeezle and Cynethia amongst them, having woken up and travelled as fast as possible to the castle.

"Okay then people…" Vanellope said, stood at the head of the table. "What do we do?"

Damon stood. "I reckon we should wake up Jubilee." Many people nodded in agreement. Vanellope walked over to where they had slung the girl in the corner. She shook her viciously, not caring that the other girl's head banged against the wall. Jubilee's eyes snapped open and she immediately began struggling against her bonds. Eventually, she stopped, and gave all the teens an evil glare.

"So then, I guess you win. What a pity." She drawled, her nonchalant voice rivalled by her angry stare. "I guess I'll be executed now?"

"We don't have a death penalty, Miss Darkheart." Vanellope spat at the girl, who laughed. "You know, I don't think that surname is going to win me any sympathy at the moment. Please, call me Miss Bing Bing."

There were gasps from around the room as everyone looked from Jubilee to Jubileena. The lighter cherry girl got out of her seat and stalked over to her future self. Then, she pointed directly at the other girl. "Don't you ever call yourself that." She uttered, before returning to her seat. Jubilee smirked.

Vanellope turned back to Jubilee. "Anyway, I was just think that life imprisonment in the fundungeon would be a better idea." Jubilee laughed. "Oh, sounds so fun! When can I leave?"

Vanellope brought her hands to her face, sighing. "Ok you sarcastic little chip, just shut up." She went back to her seat and sat down.

"So, Swizz and Ron, would you care to tell us what you discovered in the code room?"

"Certainly." Swizzle replied. He proceeded to explain exactly what had happened inside the code room, efore and after the reset. When he was fnished, there was utter silence.

"So … we are characters from the game?" Cherry asked, holding hands with Gloyd. "Basically." Said Ron, his arm round Crumbelina. "If you focus hard enough, you should be able to bring your old memories to mind. It worked for me."

"And us." Lucy and Kevin said. All the other performers thought hard, searching their brains for a trace of a memory. There were exclamations as they all slowly figured out who they were. Jake, however, stayed quiet.

"I can't find anything." He complained, racking his memories. "I'm sure it'll be fine…" Cherry said uncertainly.

"Now all we have to do is find out how we got here." Damon said. "Oh!" Minty gained a light of revelation in his eyes. "Guys," she glanced at Lucy, Crimson, Jake and Snowanna, "do you think it could have something to do with the magic purple blob?"

"Magic purple blob?" Gloyd laughed. "I've got to see this."

They left the castle and made their way to the circus, then moved to the caravans, Jubilee following handcuffed behind them. Minty and Citrusella forced their way into Twistella's caravan, and all of the racers gazed in awe at the purple mass, turning from a thick cloud of gas to a bubbling liquid that floated in the air. All the circus performers started to move towards it slowly.

"It still feels like home…" Crimson sighed as she pulled her hand away from touching it. They all went outside, and turned to face Jubilee. "What is that thing?" Asked Vanellope.

Jubilee laughed meanly. "Why would I tell you?" Crimson frowned. "Because we'll kill you if you don't." Jubilee sneered at her. "To kill me is to kill Jubileena's future. So you'd be slaughtering your friend."

"Yeah… I don't really want to be slaughtered." Jubileena remarked. "But I ca change my future, can't I?" She asked, looking around nervously. Citrusella put her arm around her shoulders. "Let's not take any chances."

Crimson, meanwhile, had been searching her brain for anything they could hold against the dark girl. Suddenly, it came to her.

"So we can't kill you…" she said, raising an eyebrow as she wandered closer to the girl. "But…" she grabbed Jubilee's metal gloved hand and pulled. She pulled out her sword and held it just above the metal. "We can destroy your only worthwhile possession."

Jubilee's eyes widened. "That's lightyears of technology ahead of you fools! You can do that!" She protested. Crimson brought her blade closer to the metal. "Argh! Fine! That's the portal we used to pluck you all out of your stories!" She cried. Crimson let go of her hand and walked back into the main group.

"But you nitwits won't know how to work it!" Jubilee crowed victoriously, pulling her arms inwards. "Damn it!" Crimson yelled. Just then, they heard a crash from the inside of the caravan. Adorabeezle poked her head out from behind the door.

"Guys! I touched the portal!"

"Adora, you idiot!" Nougetsia fumed as she ran over to her sister, who had a wide-eyed look about her but was luckily uninjured. "What happened Dora?" Swizzle asked.

"Well, it was reminding me of a design I made years ago of an imaginary portal that could take you anywhere in space and time if you just thought hard enough. So I touched it when you guys had all left, and I was sort of sucked into the glass. I was in this really big dark space, and all of my memories kept flashing through my head. I panicked – the only thing I could think about was getting back. Then I started feeling really strange, and I was sucked back to the outside of the glass." She explained happily. Vanellope shook her head ruefully. "Adorabeezle, you are the definition of a mad genius."

"And it makes sense that Jubilee and Twistella could get it, if they are from the future. After all, Jubilee could have stolen it off an older Adorabeezle!" Crumbelina exclaimed.

"Twenty years older, exactly." Came Jubilee's dark voice. She frowned at all of the teens, the fire in her eyes burning with hatred. "So, everything's worked out for the racers and their friends now, like it does _every_ time. You get to go back to your lovely little worlds, and then you live out your lives happily whilst I have to be imprisoned for eternity. Things never seem to go bad for you! You are the most frustratingly lucky people on this planet!" She snarled.

They turned away. "I think we should cut out the wall that the portal is against. Then we can access it more easily." Said Vanellope. Damon placed his hands on the side of the wall and in a second it was gone.

"Well…" Said Snowanna, gazing at the purple mass, now steam. "I guess this is goodbye then."

Lucy and Kevin decided to go first. They said a tearful goodbye to everyone, then went to stand in front of the portal as Adorabeezle explained exactly what to do.

"Noted." Said Kevin. "We'll miss you like this, Dora." Lucy added. Adorabeezle smiled and hugged them both. "By the way," she said as she pulled away. "Who are you guys then?"

"Oh, right." Kevin grinned. "We're from Sugar Rush's future." Lucy smiled. "So yeah, we have all the info on who you all date and marry and what you name your kids."

"Our kids?" Said Rancis. Kevin and Lucy exchanged a giggle, then smiled at him. "Uh huh." Said Lucy, her hazel eyes sparkling. "Yup. Bye bye for now then!" Kevin added, his curl of blond hair swept back in the breeze as he clutched his sister's had and touched the portal. They disappeared inside, not a trace to be seen.

 _They found themselves on the floor of the castle lounge, video game consoles in hand, the avatars going unnoticed on the screen. "We made it! We did it Kev!" Lucy exclaimed. They jumped to their feet and raced down to the kitchen. They opened the door to a cloud of flour._

"Oh! Hi kids!" Said a tall figure, who wafted away the whiteness to reveal his face, clothes, and perfect blond hair covered in it.

" _Dad…" Kevin said, running over to him and hugging him with his little sister in tow, "You will not believe where we've been."_

 _Rancis's eyes widened. "The – the circus?"_

 _Both kids nodded. Rancis laughed with delight. "Vani! Come down! The kids just got back!"_

" _Where did they go?" Vanellope's voice sailed down the stairs._

" _To about twenty years ago!" Shouted Lucy as she tackled her mum with a floury hug._

Rancis glanced over at Vanellope. "You know, they were someone here's kids." He said, his face getting uncomfortably warm. "Yeah, I guess they were…" She replied. They both laughed awkwardly, then Vanellope asked: "Who's next?"

Ginger and Miito were up next. They bade farewell to the others, then Miito directed Ginger to the portal. "Ready?" He asked.

"Ready." She replied.

She stretched out her hand and thought about home.

 _They opened their eyes to find themselves in a small clearing. Before them was a beautiful motorcycle – but it wasn't just a motorcycle. It was a light cycle, the bright wheels gleaming in the setting sun, with brown base standing out in stark contrast against the cream cheese icing on the sides and front. Although Ginger couldn't see it, she could almost sense it was there, and the image of it was embedded in her brain._

" _Miito! Ginger! There you are!" Ginger spun to face the sound of the voice. She could hear the plodding furry footsteps, sense the warmness that surrounded her, and she remembered the voice of Mari with ultimate clarity._

" _Mari!" She exclaimed, running towards the voice. She felt herself enveloped in the short warm arms, then heard Mari's soft chuckle as the bear said "Where's all this coming from? And where have you two been?" Ginger pulled away. "You are not going to believe this. Let's go inside – it'll be a long story." And so they left, Ginger with a bear paw clutched in each hand._

Damon watched Ginger disappear, sucked through into the purple mass. He felt quite unhappy, actually, that all his friends were leaving – over the last month or so, they had all grown very close.

He scanned the gathering. Jubilee had been tethered, by using a tall pole embedded in the earth – they had looped her handcuffs around it, and now it was far too tall for her to escape. Suddenly, a brighter, cheerier flash of red caught his attention. He glanced towards it, seeing Jubileena talking to Torvald. He waited until the golden girl left, then wandered over to where she was sitting on the grass.

"You know, I quite like it here." He said. "Do you now?" She remarked. "Oh yeah. In fact, I think I might just stay here." He answered, a smile on his face. ""But won't your friends miss you?" She asked. "Not really. I mean, my friends can't miss me when I'm always here."

Jubileena laughed. "I meant your friends from your old life."

Damon shrugged. "So did I. After all, unlockable characters tend to live in the same world as originals."

Jubileena's mouth fell open. "You mean you're from this world?" She exclaimed. He nodded with delight. "Yes!" She yelled, jumping at him and pulling him into a hug. To his surprise, she planted her lips on his, making his eyes go wide as he stiffened. Slowly, however, he relaxed. She tasted like cherries and happy summer days: warm, sweet and bright. He was just wrapping his arms around her as well when the interruption came.

"Whoa lovebirds, take it easy!" Citrusella and Cynethia appeared from behind, and sat down next to them.

"Has my little sister got a boyfriend?" Citrusella asked, at the same time that Cynth said "Is ickle Damon in wove?"

"Oh can it Cynth." Damon replied, pushing the other girl away. She laughed and she and Citrusella high-fived over the annoyed couple. "Nah, it's cute!" Citri said. "But just to warn you Damon – if you hurt my sister, you will not live another minute!" She said cheerfully. "Ella!" Jubileena moaned.

"Right. Of course." Damon replied. "Anyways, the reason I came was because I'm going. Do I get a goodbye hug?" Cynethia asked, opening her arms. Damon, Jubi, and Citrusella all hugged her goodbye, and then she got up and wandered over to the portal. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her wrist. She yelped in surprise as she was spun around, her forehead bumping gently into the boy's.

"You know, where you're going, you're a villain during game time." He whispered. She smirked. "And? Does that bother you?" He smiled crookedly. "Actually, no. In fact, I quite like bad girls. And I'm sue the Swizz where you come from will too. So you don't leave the poor guy hanging, yeah?"

She laughed. "I don't take orders from you, Malarkey. But I'll think about it." She replied. He joined her laughter as he moved his head back. "Damn. Can't even be a good wingman for my alternate self." She grinned at him. "You're just too charming I guess."

"Well, don't miss me too much, After all, you'll have villain stuff to do."

"Oh, I'll be plenty busy, I'm sure. But …" she stared into his eyes warmly. "I won't forget you."

He kissed her forehead. "That's all that I ask."

She gave him one last smile and walked over to the orb. After a quick lesson on how not to die inside it from Adorabeezle, she was ready.

She pressed her hand against the glass.

 _She looked around. Although her eyes were most certainly open, she could only see the insides of her eyelids – a dark reddish colour, a little peculiar spot from where she last looked at the light floating in the corner. It was such a strange sensation she nearly forgot why she was there._

 _She took a deep breath, and focused._

 _Let's go back to my story._

 _Let's relive life once more as a villain during game time and a racer during free time._

 _Let's find all my friends._

 _There was a sudden intrusion of light. She realised she had her eyelids closed, even though she didn't remember shutting them. When they did open, she found herself looking up at a sky of stars. Beneath her was a soft blanket, and her head rested on a warm arm._

 _She turned to see him smiling softly at her._

" _Did you fall asleep?" He whispered. She looked back up at the stars, then looked back into his indigo eyes. "Not exactly. But…" she looked back up at the stars, making herself comfortable in his arms. "I'll tell you tomorrow."_

 _He gave a low chuckle. "Never one to ruin a moment like this. You're definitely my Cyndy."_

" _And you're my Lollipop." She replied as she interlaced their fingers._

Gloyd was watching Cynethia disappear through the glass when he felt a small pair of arms wrap around his torso from behind. The girl in question spun around so she was face to face with him, her arms still encircling him, her green eyes dancing with excitement and her smile as entrancing as ever. "Guess what?"

"What?" He asked, grinning, her enthusiasm contagious. "I've been drilling Ron's brain from information about my story. And I figured out that it's actually pretty similar to this world. So … if you search the seas enough, you should be able to find me. And I'm sure my colony are nicer when game time's over."

He kissed her on the forehead happily, then smirked at her. "That's great news, but how am I going to live without you until then?" She giggled again, that enchanting laugh. "You'll just have to start looking sooner."

She brought her lips up to meet his. Gloyd let himself melt into the kiss, knowing it may be the last one for a long time. Then suddenly, he felt a punch to the stomach. "Ouch! What was that for?" He exclaimed, hugging his abdomen. "I told you, Gloyd Orangeboar, that if you didn't come back to me, I would make you suffer. You did come back, but you also managed to die along the way. So I figure that that and not seeing me until you find my colony will be enough."

Gloyd laughed. "You truly are a woman of your word." She leaned down next to him and gave him another kiss, long and tender. "I'll see you on the other side, my pumpkin prankster."

She walked over to the portal and was sucked away.

 _When she opened her eyes, she found herself underwater. Her tail was there in place of her legs, the cherry red scales shining brightly in the faint light, and instead of her little white dress she had a wraparound top, finishing just above her stomach. She laughed with delight as she swam around. She was just doing flips when she heard a voice come from behind her._

" _There you are! I was wondering where you'd got to."_

 _She turned to see an older mermaid, with the same bright cherry tail and hair, but pulled back into a ponytail, and with warm brown eyes and a more serene expression._

" _Honestly, can't stay still for one second, can you? Mum said we had to go feed the crabs, and what do you do? You run off into the kelp to do flips. What am I going t do with you?" She shook her head, smiling. Cherry laughed. "Actually sis, I've been a lot further than just here. I've been a lot further, and for a lot longer."_

Crimson was next. Just before she touched the portal, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hey! You're not trying to leave without saying goodbye, are you?" Jake called, running up to her. He grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. She laughed – the first time she'd laughed in a while. After a few seconds, she said "Jake, you can let go now."

"But then you'll disappear. Forever." He said. She glitched out of his arms. "Hey. I'll always be in there," she replied, pointing at his forehead. He laughed. "Yeah, I guess you will. Well, good luck on the other side, Crunch."

"The same to you, Dewey."

She placed her hand on the orb, and felt the strange sensation of her entire body being sucked into the portal.

 _She found herself in a courtyard. She different clothes on to normal – a red dress, with black shoes. She looked up. She remembered where she was now. Above her, a rope was thrown down from the balcony. Then, a head appeared over the edge, and a boy slid down it._

" _Here we are!" He said, his green eyes gleaming at her from under his red fringe. "Funny. Usually it's the princess who has to sneak out of her castle to meet the prince, not the other way round." He said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her sweetly._

" _Are you okay, Crim?" He asked as he pulled away. "I – I need to tell you something, Freddie. Can we reschedule the date and just go to the den?" She asked. "Of course!" He replied, grabbing her hand. "Anything for my rose. Oh, that reminds me…" he handed her a red rose, red as her dress. "It's not exactly a bouquet, but…" she smiled. "It's lovely. Besides," it glitched in her hand, duplicating he rose until she was holding ten of the exact same. "I can make my own bouquets."_

"…basically, as far as I can figure, it's an alternate timeline where you guys all exist, but make different choices and have different friends and enemies. But somethings are still the same – Gloyd still pranks people, Taffyta still bags about her racing skills, we're still together…" Ron trailed off as he gazed at his girlfriend. She was listening to his intently. "What?" She asked. "But it's not us, is it? It's me and other Crumbs." He said.

She laughed. "Well, I hope you don't call her that to her face! If she's anything like me, she won't be happy with you. And don't you even think about calling me 'other Crumbs' when you go back!" Ron gave a half-hearted laugh. "But you understand – how do I know after being here with you that going back is the better choice?"

"I know it is." Crumbelina replied, her face calm as she took his hands in hers. "You can't stay here forever. Your world needs you, and you need it. And she needs you too. You can't just let her be alone like that, hoping one day you'll return. You can't do that to her, and I can't let you. No go through that portal and help save your world." She said, her voice cracking. Ron leant forwards and kissed her one last time, long and bittersweet. He got up, and went over to the portal. The last thing he saw before he was sucked through was her small wave, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

" _Ron! Did you fall asleep or something?" Crumbelina laughed, running ahead of him, his hand in hers. They sprinted through the forest, the peppermint trees looming above them. She smiled at him radiantly, her face alight with joy. He pulled to a stop. "What's up?" She asked, turning to face hi, properly. He pulled her closer, sobbing silently as he laid his head on her shoulder. "Ron? What's the matter?"_

" _I love you Crumbs. I'll always love you. You know that, right?" He spoke into her jacket. "Of course Ronnie! And I love you too!" He pulled away, wiping his cheeks. "Great. I've got something very important to tell you."_

Vanellope and Jake walked over to where Jubilee was leaning against the pole.

"Okay Darkheart, explain to us, why can't Jake remember where he's from?" Vanellope demanded. Jubilee simply sneered at them. "You'd have to ask Jester Twistella – oh wait, you killed her!" She turned away.

"Well, I don't think we're getting any info out of her. Do you think we could lock her up before I leave? I'd love to see that." Jake said, a slight savage edge to his voice. Jubilee turned back around. "Before you do, I do require one last request." Vanellope snorted. "Fine."

"I want to talk to my past self. A private matter."

Vanellope sighed, and went over to where Jubileena and Damon were to ask the cherry girl's permission. Jubilee stared at Jake until he got very uncomfortable. "What?" He barked eventually. She opened her mouth. "I was just wondering why of all the borrowed characters, the virus would want to mess with you the most. I mean, there's a reason that she chose that form, and a reason that you can't remember."

Jake wanted to protest, but then he remembered how he felt every time he looked at Twistella. Something about her orange eyes and beautiful face just seemed so unnervingly similar. He couldn't place a name, a location, or even a feeling, but he knew that that face had something to do wth his past. And right now, that was his only clue.

Vanellope reappeared with Jubileena by her side. "Okay Darkheart, I'll talk." Said the cherry girl. Jubilee glared at the other two. "This is a private matter between me and myself. Please back away." They did so, grumbling. Jubileena watched them leave, then turned back, to find Jubilee a lot closer. In fact, all she could see was the other girl's face. Jubilee studied her intently for a few seconds. "It's been a long time since I saw such naivety in my eyes. And such … such love." She sounded scornful, but also – envious? She motioned with her head for Jubileena to come closer. The girl inched forwards. Jubilee reached round and then whispered into her ear: "See you in twenty years." Then, she head-butted Jubileena violently. The other girl fell to the floor, and Jubilee, free of her bonds thanks to her contact with her past self, ran past all the shocked racers and jumped into the portal.

"No!" Jake shouted, running after her. He didn't stop to hear Adorabeezle's advice, but hit the glass at full speed.

 _He found himself inside the dark area. He looked around frantically, but Jubilee was nowhere to be seen. He felt like someone had crushed his ribcage. She had won, in the end. She had escaped after all the pain she had caused them._

 _He began think about home._

 _Home._

 _Home._

 _Home._

 _Home._

 _He repeated the word over and over, until it was less of a though and more of a chant, a prayer. Suddenly, he became aware of a leather seat under his legs, cool metal resting against his arm, and the distinct sound of footsteps._

 _His eyes snapped open. He was sitting in his kart, one arm out of the open window, the other clutching a can of mountain dew, watching the sunset through the glass, parked at the edge of a cliff that looked out for miles around._

 _The footsteps stopped. He looked up out of the window, straight into those slim orange eyes, shining in the dim light._

 _But those eyes were not alone against her snowy-white skin. Her childlike features were framed by long blonde hair, her lips thin and rosy, curled into a smile. When she spoke, it wasn't in the horrendous tones of the virus, but in the sweet silvery voice of the jester._

" _I thought I'd find you here." She leant down, placing her forearms on the edge of the window. "Twist." He said with an air of wonder. "Twistella Ranbun, the one and only." She said, ggoing round the kart, opening the door then climbing inside. "You okay, Jake? You seem really far away right now." She said, looking at him in concern as he watched the orange blush in her cheeks._

" _I've got a story to tell you, Twist."_

 **Finished! I can't believe it!**

 **Thanks to everyone who has been reading despite my slow updates, it really made my day whenever I got a review or a favourite. And I have finally posted it onto a fanfiction contest called fandom2 on inkett, so if you would help it there that would make my day to the extreme.**

 **My first complete multi-chapter story!**

 **This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!**


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